la/anted 


Nixon  Wafceman 


,\ 


The  beautiful  girl 

Is  the  one  whose  sweet  grace 
Shines  forth  in  her  deeds 

As  it  does  in  her  face 


THE  GIRL  WANTED 


HN1V.  W  CAUF.  LIBRARY.  I.OS  ANOELE* 


OTHER  BOOKS 

BY  NIXON  WATERMAN 

"BOY  WANTED" 

A  Book  of  Cheerful  Counsel 
A  BOOK  OF  VERSES 
IN  MERRY  MOOD 

A  Book  of  Cheerful  Rhymes 
SONNETS  OF  A  BUDDING  BARD 

FORBES   &   COMPANY,  CHICAGO 


MARTHA     WASHINGTON 


THE  GIRL  WANTED 

A  BOOK  OF  FRIENDLY  THOUGHTS 


BY 

NIXON   WATERMAN 

AUTHOR    or   "BOY  WANTED," 
"A  BOOK  or  VERSES,"  "IN 

MERRY  MOOD,"  KTC. 


CHICAGO 

FORBES  AND  COMPANY 
1913 


COPTKIOHT.    1910.    BT 
FOBBES  AND  COMPANY 


TO 

THE  GIRL  WANTED,  WHO, 

BY  HER  BEAUTIFUL  WAYS, 

SHALL  BRIGHTEN  AND  GLADDEN 

LiFE's  WONDERFUL  DAYS. 


2133593 


PREFACE 

'T'HE  pleasure  of  giving  to  the  public  this  volume  has 
been  brought  about  by  the  publication  of  the  author's 
work  entitled,  "Boy  Wanted,"  which  he  presented  as  "a 
book  of  cheerful  counsel  to  his  young  friends  and  such  of 
the  seniors  as  are  not  too  old  to  accept  a  bit  of  friendly 
admonition." 

The  warm  welcome  accorded  that  book,  and  the  many 
requests  it  has  called  forth  for  a  similar  companion  volume 
for  girls,  has  prompted  the  author  to  prepare  the  series  of 
papers  offered  herewith,  with  the  hope  that  they,  too,  may 
find  as  many  youthful  friends  (between  the  ages  of 
seven  and  seventy)  awaiting  them. 

In  the  present  volume,  as  in  "Boy  Wanted,"  the  fine 
prose  thoughts  are  selected  from  the  writings  of  a  very 
large  number  of  the  world's  foremost  teachers  and  philoso- 
phers of  all  times,  while  the  author,  with  a  due  sense  of 
modesty,  lays  claim  to  all  such  examples  of  versification 
as  are  to  be  found  within  this  book. 

In  these  days  when  the  women  of  the  world,  with  such 
splendid  success,  are  writing  books  for  the  moral  guidance 
and  spiritual  uplift  of  the  men  and  youth  of  every  land,  an 
author  need  not  feel  called  upon  to  apologize  when  he  pre- 
sumes to  address  his  remarks  to  readers  of  the  opposite 
sex,  as  did  John  Ruskin,  to  such  fine  purpose,  in  the  "Pearls 
for  Young  Ladies." 

Since  his  own  mother,  wife,  sisters,  daughters  and 
many  of  his  best  friends  belong  to  the  feminine  half  of 


humanity,  any  man  who  is  a  careful  observer,  a  logical 
reasoner,  and  an  adequate  writer  ought  to  be  able  to  say 
something  of  worth  and  interest  to  the  women  and  girls  to 
whom  he  is  permitted  to  address  himself.  If  in  this  volume 
the  author  is  able  to  impart  to  others,  in  a  small  degree,  the 
beneficent  influence  he  has  received  through  the  splendid 
precepts  and  noble  examples  of  the  women  to  whom  he 
owes  so  much,  he  will  deem  himself  grandly  rewarded  for 
the  labor  of  love  herein  set  forth. 

Nor  is  the  author  unconscious  of  the  great  purpose 
that  should  underlie  the  writing  of  a  series  of  papers  de- 
signed to  direct  the  daughters  of  our  land  toward  the 
greatest  factor  in  the  making  and  the  perpetuity  of  a  nation 
— a  noble  and  beautiful  womanhood.  For  observation  has 
taught  the  world  that — 

We  're  almost  sure  to  find  good  men, 
When,  all  in  all,  we  choose  to  take  them, 

Are,  nearly  nine  times  out  of  ten, 
What  mothers,  wives  and  sisters  make  them. 

N.  W. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  CHOOSING  THE  WAY 13 

Starting  right.  The  strength  of  early  impressions.  "Environ- 
ment." The  will  and  the  way.  Planning  the  future.  "Mother's 
Apron  Strings." 

II  ACCOMPLISHMENTS  27 

The  ability  to  do  things.  Elegant  and  useful  accomplishments. 
The  value  of  thoroughness.  "What  Have  We  Done  To-day?"  The 
service  of  the  heart.  "Sympathy."  "Only  A  Word." 

III  THE  JOY  OF  DOING 45 

The  power  of  enthusiasm.  Working  with  heart  and  hand. 
Looking  on  the  bright  side.  "Just  This  Minute."  Happiness  and 
its  relation  to  health.  Paths  of  sunshine.  "The  Sculptor." 

IV  SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 65 

The  desire  to  do  right.  The  importance  of  every-day  incidents. 
True  culture.  "A  Rose  to  the  Living."  Patience  as  a  virtue.  "This 
Busy  World." 

V  THE  VALUE  OF  SUNSHINE 85 

"Likableness"  as  a  desirable  quality.  The  present  the  best  of  all 
times.  The  sunshiny  girl.  "The  Prize  Winner."  The  necessity 
of  being  prepared.  "The  Conqueror." 

VI  A  MERRY  HEART          . 105 

Smoothing  the  way  with  a  smile.  The  unselfishness  of  happi- 
ness. "The  Point  of  View."  The  joy  of  living  for  others.  "The 
Better  Armor."  Cultivating  happiness.  "Song  or  Sigh." 

VII  GOLDEN  HABITS 125 

Good  habits  and  bad.  The  strength  of  habit  "True  Gentility." 
Manners  and  personality.  "What  Are  You  Going  to  Do?"  The 
worth  of  good  breeding.  "Drudgery." 

VIII  THE  PURPOSE  OF  LIFE 145 

The  inspiration  of  success.  Building  day  by  day.  "Morning 
Gates."  The  value  of  a  purpose.  Women's  growing  sphere.  "Man, 
Poor  Man."  Opportunities  and  responsibilities.  "Morning  Prayer." 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


MARTHA  WASHINGTON  FRONTISPIECE 

QUEEN  VICTORIA  PAGE     26 

HARRIET  BEECHER  STOWE "44 

LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT _.  "64 

JULIA  WARD   HOWE »         ..."       84 

ELIZABETH    BARRETT   BROWNING "104 

FLORENCE  NIGHTINGALE "124 

GEORGE  ELIOT  .  "144 


THE  GIRL  WANTED 


CHAPTER  I 


CHOOSING  THE  WAY 

S,  my  good  girl,  I  am  very  glad  that 
we  are  to  have  the  opportunity  to 
enjoy  a  friendly  chat  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  printed  page,  with  its  many 
tongues  of  type. 

Just  here  I  have  a  favor  to  ask  of  you, 
and  that  is  that  you  will  consent  to  let  us 
talk  chiefly  about  yourself  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  you  are  going  to  live  all  the 
golden  to-morrows  that  are  awaiting 
you. 

In  a  discussion  of  the  topics  which  are 
to  follow,  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  under- 
stand that  there  has  never  been  a  period 
in  the  world's  history  when  a  girl  was  of 
more  importance  than  she  is  just  now. 
Indeed,  many  close  observers  and  clear 
thinkers  are  of  the  opinion  that  there 
never  has  been  a  time  when  a  girl  was  of 

13 


What  can  be  ex- 
pressed in  words  can 
be  expressed  in  life. 
— THOREAU. 


It  is  faith  in  some- 
thing and  enthusiasm 
for  something  that 
makes  a  life  worth 
looking  at.  —  OLIVE* 
WENDELL  HOLMES. 


The  habit  of  view- 
ing things  cheerfully, 
and  of  thinking  about 
life  hopefully,  may  be 
made  to  grow  up  in 
us  like  any  other 
habit. — SMILES. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


A  laugh  is  worth  a 
hundred  groans  in 
any  state  of  the  mar- 
ket.—CHARLES  LAMB. 


The  old  days  never 
come  again,  because 
they  would  be  get- 
ting in  the  way  of  the 
new,  better  days 
whose  turn  it  is. — 
GEORGE  MACDONALD. 


The  man  who  has 
learned  to  take  things 
as  they  come,  and  to 
let  go  as  they  depart, 
has  mastered  one  of 
the  arts  of  cheerful 
and  contented  living. 
— ANONYMOUS. 


quite  so  much  importance  as  she  is  to- 
day. 

Some  of  our  most  able  writers  tell  us 
that  we  are  just  on  the  threshold  of  "the 
women's  century,"  and  that  the  great 
advance  the  world  is  to  witness  in  the 
forthcoming  years  is  to  be  largely  in- 
spired by,  and  redound  to  the  glory  of, 
the  women  of  the  earth. 

Come  what  will,  the  future  is  suffi- 
ciently alluring  to  cause  you  to  cherish 
it  most  fondly  and  to  determine  that 
you  will  make  the  years  that  are  before 
you  as  bright  and  beautiful  and  as 
"worth  while"  as  it  is  possible  for  you 
to  do. 

It  is  a  glorious  privilege  to  dwell  in 
the  very  forefront  of  time,  in  the  grand- 
est epoch  of  the  world's  history  and  to 
feel  that  we  are  permitted  to  be  observ- 
ers of,  and  if  it  may  so  be,  active  partici- 
pants in,  the  fascinating  events  that  are 
occurring  all  about  us. 

Yet  with  all  the  grand  achievements 
that  are  being  encompassed  in  every 
field  of  human  endeavor,  the  world  to- 
day, needs  most,  that  which  the  world 
has  ever  most  needed — words  helpful 
and  true,  hearts  kind  and  tender,  hands 

14 


CHOOSING    THE    WAY 


willing  and  ready  to  lift  the  less  fortu- 
nate over  the  rough  places  in  the  paths 
of  life,  goodness  and  grace,  gentle 
women  and  gentlemen. 

And  so  here  we  find  ourselves,  just  at 
this  particular  spot  and  at  this  very  mo- 
ment, with  all  of  the  days,  months, 
years — yes,  the  whole  of  eternity — still 
to  be  lived! 

At  first  thought  it  seems  like  a  great 
problem,  does  this  having  to  decide  how 
we  are  going  to  live  out  all  the  great 
future  that  is  before  us.  Yet,  when  we 
come  to  think  it  over,  we  see  that  it  is 
not  so  difficult  after  all;  for,  fortunate 
mortals  that  we  are,  we  shall  never 
have  to  live  it  but  one  moment  at  a  time. 
And,  better  still,  that  one  moment  is  al- 
ways to  be  the  one  that  is  right  here  and 
just  now  where  we  can  see  it  and  study  it 
and  shape  it  and  do  with  it  as  we  will. 

Just  this  minute! 

Surely  it  will  not  require  a  great  deal 
of  effort  on  the  part  of  any  one  of  us  to 
live  the  next  sixty  seconds  as  they 
should  be  lived.  And  having  lived  one 
moment  properly,  it  ought  to  be  still 
easier  for  us  to  live  the  next  one  as  well, 
and  then  the  next,  and  the  next  until, 

15 


Cheerfulness  is  the 
very  flower  of  health. 
— SCHOPENHAUER. 


There  are  people 
who  do  not  know  how 
to  waste  their  time 
alone,  and  hence  be- 
come the  scourge  of 
busy  people.  —  DE 
BONALD. 


Not  what  has  hap- 
pened to  myself  to- 
day, but  what  has 
happened  to  others 
through  me  —  that 
should  be  my  thought. 
FREDERICK  DEERING 
BLAKE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Let  us  be  of  good 
cheer,  remembering 
that  the  misfortunes 
hardest  to  bear  are 
those  which  never 
come. — LOWILL. 


The  highest  luxury 
of  which  the  human 
mind  is  sensible  is  to 
call  smiles  upon  the 
face  of  miser y. — 
ANONYMOUS. 


He  who  is  plen- 
teously  provided  for 
from  within,  needs 
but  little  from  with- 
out—GOETHE. 


finally,  we  continue  to  live  them  rightly, 
just  as  a  matter  of  habit. 

When  we  come  to  understand  clearly 
that  time  is  the  thing  of  which  lives  are 
made,  and  that  time  is  divided  into  a 
certain  number  of  units,  we  can  then 
pretty  closely  figure  out,  by  simple  pro- 
cesses in  arithmetic,  how  much  life  is 
going  to  be  worth  to  us. 

What  we  are  doing  this  minute,  mul- 
tiplied by  sixty,  tells  us  what  we  are 
likely  to  accomplish  in  an  hour. 

What  we  do  in  an  hour,  multiplied  by 
the  number  of  working  hours  in  every 
twenty-four,  tells  us  what  we  may  ex- 
pect to  achieve  in  a  day. 

What  we  do  in  a  day,  multiplied  by 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  shows  us 
what  it  is  probable  we  shall  accomplish 
in  a  year. 

What  we  do  in  a  year,  when  multiplied 
by  the  number  of  years  of  youth  and 
health  and  strength,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  are  yet  before  us,  sets  forth  the 
result  we  may  hope  to  secure  in  a  life- 
time. For  it  is  not  hard  for  us  to  com- 
prehend that 


CHOOSING    THE    WAY 


If,  ever,  while  this  minute  's  here, 

We  use  it  circumspectly, 
We  '11  live  this  hour,  this  day,  this  year, 

Yes,  all  our  lives,  correctly. 

As  the  work  of  the  builder  is  preceded 
by  the  plans  of  the  architect,  so  the  deeds 
we  do  in  life  are  preceded  by  the 
thoughts  we  think.  The  thought  is  the 
plan ;  the  deed  is  the  structure. 

"As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  is  in- 
clined." Wordsworth  tells  us:  "The 
child  is  father  of  the  man."  Which 
means,  also,  that  the  child  is  mother  of 
the  woman.  That  which  we  dream  to- 
day we  may  do  to-morrow.  The  toys  of 
childhood  become  the  tools  of  our  ma- 
turer  years. 

So  it  follows  that  an  important  part  of 
the  work  and  occupation  of  one's  early 
years  should  be  to  learn  to  have  right 
thoughts,  which,  later  on  in  life,  are  to 
become  right  actions. 

The  pleasant,  helpful  girl  is  most 
likely  to  become  the  pleasant,  helpful 
woman.  The  seed  that  is  sown  in  the 
springtime  of  life  determines  the  char- 
acter of  the  harvest  that  must  be  reaped 
in  the  autumn. 

17 


Each  day  should  be 
distinguished  by  at 
least  one  particular 
act  of  love. — LAVATER. 


Every  person  is  re- 
sponsible for  all  the 
good  within  the  scope 
of  his  abilities,  and 
for  no  more;  and 
none  can  tell  whose 
sphere  is  the  largest. — 
— GAIL  HAMILTON. 


Work  is  the  very 
salt  of  life,  not  only 
preserving  it  from  de- 
cay, but  also  giving  it 
tone  and  flavor. — 
HUGH  BLACK. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Treat  your  friends 
for  what  you  know 
them  to  be.  Regard 
no  surfaces.  Con- 
sider not  what  they 
did,  but  what  they  in- 
tended.— THOREAU. 


Work!  It  is  the 
sole  law  of  the  world. 
— EMILE  ZOLA. 


No  lot  is  so  hard, 
no  aspect  of  things  is 
so  grim,  but  it  relaxes 
before  a  hearty  laugh. 
— GEORCK  S.  MEK- 

RJAM. 


The  cultivation  of  the  right  point  of 
view  means  so  much  in  determining 
one's  attitude  toward  all  that  the  years 
may  bring.  Three  centuries  ago  it  was 
written:  "What  is  one  man's  poison 
is  another's  meat  or  drink."  So  there 
are  many  things  in  life  that  bring  pleas- 
ure to  some  and  distress  to  others. 

There  is  a  beautiful  little  story  about 
a  shepherd  boy  who  was  keeping  his 
sheep  in  a  flowery  meadow,  and  because 
his  heart  was  happy,  he  sang  so  loudly 
that  the  surrounding  hills  echoed  back 
his  song.  One  morning  the  king,  who 
was  out  hunting,  spoke  to  him  and  said : 
"Why  are  you  so  happy,  my  boy?" 

"Why  should  I  not  be  happy?"  an- 
swered the  boy.  "Our  king  is  not  richer 
than  I." 

"Indeed,"  said  the  king,  "pray  tell  me 
of  your  great  possessions." 

The  shepherd  boy  answered:  "The 
sun  in  the  bright  blue  sky  shines  as 
brightly  upon  me  as  upon  the  king.  The 
flowers  upon  the  mountain  and  the  grass 
in  the  valley  grow  and  bloom  to  gladden 
my  sight  as  well  as  his.  I  would  not  take 
a  fortune  for  my  hands ;  my  eyes  are  of 
more  value  than  all  the  precious  stones 
18 


CHOOSING    THE    WAY 


in  the  world.  I  have  food  and  clothing, 
too.  Am  I  not,  therefore,  as  rich  as  the 
king?" 

"You  are  right,"  said  the  king,  with  a 
smile,  "but  your  greatest  treasure  is 
your  contented  heart.  Keep  it  so,  and 
you  will  always  be  happy." 

So  much  of  life's  happiness  depends 
upon  one's  immediate  surroundings  that 
wherever  it  is  a  matter  of  choice  they 
should  be  made  to  conform  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  the  thoughts  and  tastes  one 
wishes  to  cultivate.  As  a  matter  of 
course  but  few  persons  can  have  just 
the  surroundings  they  would  like,  but  it 
is  possible  that  by  pleasant  thinking  all 
of  us  can  make  the  surroundings  we  have 
more  likable.  We  can,  at  least,  be 
thoughtful  of  the  character  of  the  friends 
and  companions  we  choose  to  have  with 
us,  and  it  is  they  who  are  the  most  vital 
and  influential  part  of  our 

ENVIRONMENT 

Shine  or  shadow,  flame  or  frost, 
Zephyr-kissed  or  tempest-tossed, 
Night  or  day,  or  dusk  or  dawn, 
We  are  strangely  lived  upon. 


Concentration  is  the 
secret  of  strength. — 
EMERSON. 


Anybody  can  do 
things  with  an  "if" — 
the  thing  is  to  do 
them  without.  —  PAT- 
RICK FLYNN. 


An  aim  in  life  is  the 
only  fortune  worth 
the  finding;  and  it  is 
not  to  be  found  in 
foreign  lands,  but  in 
the  heart  itself.— R.  L. 
STEVENSON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


The  man  without  a 
purpose  is  like  a  ship 
without  a  rudder;  a 
waif,  a  nothing,  a  no- 
man.  Have  a  purpose 
in  life  ...  and  having 
it,  throw  such  strength 
of  mind  and  muscle 
into  thy  work  as  has 
been  given  thee.  — 
CARLYLE. 


It  is  better  to  be 
worn  out  with  work 
in  a  thronged  com- 
munity than  to  perish 
of  inaction  in  a  stag- 
nant solitude.  —  MRS. 
GASKELL. 


The  advantage  of 
leisure  is  mainly  that 
we  have  the  power  of 
choosing  our  own 
work ;  not  certainly 
that  it  confers  any 
privilege  of  idleness. 
—LORD  AVEBURV. 


Mystic  builders  in  the  brain — 
Mirth  and  sorrow,  joy  and  pain, 
Grief  and  gladness,  gloom  and  light — 
Build,  oh,  build  my  heart  aright! 

O  ye  friends,  with  pleasant  smiles, 
Help  me  build  my  precious  whiles ; 
Bring  me  blocks  of  gold  to  make 
Strength  that  wrong  shall  never  shake. 

Day  by  day  I  gather  from 
All  you  give  me.    I  become 
Yet  a  part  of  all  I  meet 
In  the  fields  and  in  the  street. 

Bring  me  songs  of  hope  and  youth, 
Bring  me  bands  of  steel  and  truth, 
Bring  me  love  wherein  to  find 
Charity  for  all  mankind. 

Place  within  my  hands  the  tools 
And  the  Master  Builder's  rules, 
That  the  walls  we  fashion  may 
Stand  forever  and  a  day. 

Help  me  build  a  palace  where 
All  is  wonderfully  fair — 
Built  of  truth,  the  while,  above, 
Shines  the  pinnacle  of  love. 

If  we  are  to  receive  help  and  strength 

from  our  friends  we  must  lend  them 

help  and  strength  in  return.     And  since 

the  deeds  of  others  inspire  us  we  should 

20 


CHOOSING    THE    WAY 


not  deem  it  impossible  to  make  our  deeds 
inspire  them. 

Helen  Keller,  who,  though  deaf  and 
blind,  has  achieved  so  many  wonderful 
and  beautiful  victories  over  the  barriers 
that  have  beset  her,  says:  "My  share  in 
the  work  of  the  world  may  be  limited, 
but  the  fact  that  it  is  work  makes  it  pre- 
cious .  .  .  Darwin  could  work  only  half 
an  hour  at  a  time;  yet  in  many  diligent 
half-hours  he  laid  anew  the  foundations 
of  philosophy  .  .  .  Green,  the  historian, 
tells  us  that  the  world  is  moved  along, 
not  only  by  the  mighty  shoves  of  its 
heroes,  but  also  by  the  aggregate  of  the 
tiny  pushes  of  each  honest  worker." 

In  the  same  spirit  the  great  French 
savant,  Emile  Zola,  penned  these  words: 
"Let  each  one  accept  his  task,  a  task 
which  should  fill  his  life.  It  may  be 
very  humble;  it  will  not  be  the  less  use- 
ful. Never  mind  what  it  is,  so  long  as  it 
exists  and  keeps  you  erect !  When  you 
have  regulated  it,  without  excess — just 
the  quantity  you  are  able  to  accomplish 
each  day — it  will  cause  you  to  live  in 
health  and  in  joy." 

Some  wise  observer  has  said  that  one 
of  the  chief  aims  of  life  should  be  to 

21 


Suffering  becomes 
beautiful,  when  any 
one  bears  great  ca- 
lamities with  cheer- 
fulness, not  through 
insensibility,  but 
through  greatness  of 
mind. — ARISTOTLE. 


Character  is  a  per- 
fectly educated  will. — 
NOVALJS. 


One  of  the  most 
massive  and  enduring 
gratifications  is  the 
feeling  of  personal 
worth,  ever  afresh, 
brought  into  con- 
sciousness by  effectual 
action ;  and  an  idle  life 
is  balked  of  its  hopes 
partly  because  it  lacks 
this. — HERBERT  SPEN- 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Truth  is  always 
consistent  with  itself, 
and  needs  nothing  to 
help  it  out— TILLOT- 
SON. 


He  that  is  choice  of 
his  time  will  be  choice 
of  his  company  and 
choice  of  his  actions. 
—JEREMY  TAYLOR. 


Our  character  is 
our  will ;  for  what  we 
will  we  are.— ARCH- 
BISHOP MANNING. 


learn  how  to  grow  old  gracefully.  This 
knowledge  is  deemed  by  many  to  be  a 
great  secret  and  a  most  valuable  one. 
Yet  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  secret  since 
every  girl  and  boy  as  well  as  every  per- 
son of  maturer  years  must  know  that  it 
is  but  the  working  out  of  the  laws  of 
cause  and  effect.  When  character-build- 
ing is  begun  on  the  right  lines  and  those 
lines  are  followed  to  the  end  the  result 
is  as  certain  as  it  is  beautiful.  When 
we  see  a  grandmother  whose  life  has 
been  lived  on  the  happy  plane  of  pure 
thoughts  and  kind  deeds  we  ought  not 
to  wonder  that  her  old  age  is  as  exqui- 
site as  was  the  perfect  bloom  of  her 
youth.  We  need  not  marvel  how  it  has 
come  about  that  her  life  has  been  a  long 
and  happy  one.  Here  is  the  "secret:" 

She  knew  how  to  forget  disagreeable 
things. 

She  kept  her  nerves  well  in  hand  and 
inflicted  them  on  no  one. 

She  mastered  the  art  of  saying  pleas- 
ant things. 

She  did  not  expect  too  much  from  her 
friends. 

She  made  whatever  work  came  to  her 
congenial. 
22 


CHOOSING    THE    WAY 


She  retained  her  faith  in  others  and 
did  not  believe  all  the  world  wicked  and 
unkind. 

She  relieved  the  miserable  and  sym- 
pathized with  the  sorrowful. 

She  never  forgot  that  kind  words  and 
a  smile  cost  nothing,  but  are  priceless 
treasures  to  the  discouraged. 

She  did  unto  others  as  she  would  be 
done  by,  and  now  that  old  age  has  come 
to  her,  and  there  is  a  halo  of  white  hair 
about  her  brow,  she  is  loved  and  consid- 
ered. This  is  the  "secret"  of  a  long  life 
and  a  happy  one. 

Fortunate  is  the  girl  who  is  permitted 
to  dwell  within  the  living  presence  of 
such  a  matron  and  to  be  directed  by  her 
into  the  paths  of  usefulness  and  sun- 
shine. And  thrice  fortunate  is  every 
girl  who  has  for  her  guide  and  counselor 
a  loving  mother  to  whom  she  can  go  for 
light  and  wisdom  with  which  to  meet  all 
the  problems  of  life. 

"Mother  knows."  Her  earnest,  lov- 
ing words  are  to  be  cherished  above  all 
others  as  many  men  and  many  women 
have  learned  after  the  long  miles  and 
the  busy  years  have  crept  between  them 
and  "the  old  folks  at  home."  Do  not, 

23 


H  e  overcomes  a 
stout  enemy  that  over- 
comes his  own  anger. 
—CHILD. 


Good  company  and 
good  conversation  are 
the  sinews  of  virtue. 
—STEPHEN  ALLEN. 


If  you  have  great 
talents,  industry  will 
improve  them;  if  you 
have  but  moderate 
abilities,  industry  will 
supply  their  deficency. 
Nothing  is  denied  to 
well  directed  labor ; 
nothing  is  to  be  ob- 
tained without  it. — 
JOSHUA  REYNOLDS. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


If  you  are  doing 
any  real  good  you 
cannot  escape  the  re- 
ward of  your  service. 
—PATRICK  FLYNN. 


Simplicity  and 
plainness  are  the  soul 
of  elegance.  —  DICK- 


Happiness  is  one  of 
the  virtues  which  the 
people  of  all  nation- 
alities and  every  pur- 
suit appreciate.— J  o  E 
MITCHELL  CHAPPLE. 


O  Girl !  I  pray  you,  ever  grow  impatient, 
as  boys  sometimes  do,  to  be  set  beyond 
the  protecting  care  of 

MOTHER'S  APRON-STRINGS 

When  I  was  but  a  careless  youth, 

I  thought  the  truly  great 
Were  those  who  had  attained,  in  truth, 

To  man's  mature  estate. 
And  none  my  soul  so  sadly  tried 

Or  spoke  such  bitter  things 
As  he  who  said  that  I  was  tied 

To  mother's  apron-strings. 

I  loved  my  mother,  yet  it  seemed 

That  I  must  break  away 
And  find  the  broader  world  I  dreamed 

Beyond  her  presence  lay. 
But  I  have  sighed  and  I  have  cried 

O'er  all  the  cruel  stings 
I  would  have  missed  had  I  been  tied 

To  mother's  apron-strings. 

O  happy,  trustful  girls  and  boys ! 

The  mother's  way  is  best. 
She  leads  you  'mid  the  fairest  joys, 

Through  paths  of  peace  and  rest. 
If  you  would  have  the  safest  guide, 

And  drink  from  sweetest  springs, 
Oh,  keep  your  hearts  forever  tied 

To  mother's  apron-strings. 

24 


QUEEN    VICTORIA 


CHAPTER  II 
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

1  AM  sure  that  every  girl  wishes  to 
become  accomplished,  and  I  am  quite 
as  certain  that  every  girl  can  become  so 
if  she  will. 

My  dictionary  defines  an  accomplish- 
ment as  an  "acquirement  or  attainment 
that  tends  to  perfect  or  equip  in  charac- 
ter, manners,  or  person." 

Surely  every  girl  can  do  something, 
or  has  acquired  some  special  line  of 
knowledge,  that  is  covered  by  this  broad 
definition. 

It  means  that  every  girl  who  can 
sweep  a  room;  read  French  or  German 
or  English  as  it  should  be  read;  bake 
a  loaf  of  bread ;  play  tennis ;  darn  a  stock- 
ing; play  the  violin  or  pianoforte;  give 
the  names  of  flowers  and  birds  and  but- 
terflies ;  write  a  neat,  well-composed  let- 
ter, either  in  longhand  or  shorthand; 
draw  or  paint  pictures;  make  a  bed  or 


Only  to  the  pure 
and  the  true  does  Na- 
t  u  r  e  resign  herself 
and  reveal  her  se- 
crets.— GOETHE. 


Every  man  carries 
with  him  the  world  in 
which  he  must  live, 
the  stage  and  the 
scenery  for  his  own 
play.  —  F.  MARION 
CRAWFORD. 


The  best  is  yet  un- 
written, for  we  grow 
from  more  to  more. — 
SAM  WALTER  Foss. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Notwithstanding  a 
faculty  be  born  with 
us,  there  are  several 
methods  for  cultivat- 
ing and  improving  it. 
— ADD  ISDN. 


Every  truth  in  the 
universe  makes  a  close 
joint  with  every  other 
truth. — M  E  L  v  i  N  L. 
SEVERY. 


All  flimsy,  shallow, 
and  superficial  work 
is  a  lie,  of  which  a 
man  ought  to  be 
ashamed.  —  JOHN 
STUABT  BLACKIE. 


do  one  or  more  of  a  thousand  and  one 
other  things  is  accomplished  The 
more  things  she  can  do  and  the  greater 
the  number  of  subjects  on  which  she  is 
informed,  the  more  highly  is  she  accom- 
plished. 

It  is  understood,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  thoroughness  in  one's  accomplish- 
ments is  the  true  measure  of  his  worth. 
One  who  knows  a  few  subjects  very 
well  is  no  doubt  more  accomplished  than 
one  who  has  only  a  superficial  "smatter" 
of  knowledge  concerning  many. 

We  can  all  readily  understand  how 
much  more  pleasing  it  is  to  hear  a  true 
virtuoso  play  the  violin  or  pianoforte 
than  it  is  to  listen  to  a  beginner  who  can 
perform  indifferently  on  a  number  of 
instruments. 

"A  little  diamond  is  worth  a  mountain 
of  glass." 

Quality  is  the  thing  that  counts. 

The  desire  and  disposition  to  do  a 
thing  well,  coupled  with  a  firm  deter- 
mination, are  pretty  sure  to  bring  the 
ability  necessary  for  achieving  the 
wished-for  end.  The  will  is  lacking 
more  often  than  is  the  way. 

It  is  a  matter  of  frequent  comment 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


that  we  usually  expect  too  much  of  the 
average  young  and  attractive  girl  in  the 
way  of  accomplishments.  Because  she 
is  pleasing  in  her  general  appearance  we 
are  apt  to  feel  a  sense  of  disappointment 
if  we  find  that  her  qualities  of  mind  do 
not  equal  her  outward  charms. 

Charles  Lamb  says:  "I  know  that 
sweet  children  are  the  sweetest  things 
in  nature,"  and  adds,  "but  the  prettier 
the  kind  of  a  thing  is,  the  more  desir- 
able it  is  that  it  should  be  pretty  of  its 
kind."  And  so  it  is  with  girls  who  are 
bright  and  blithe  and  beautiful;  the 
world  would  give  them  every  charming 
quality  of  mind  and  heart  to  match  the 
grace  of  face  and  figure. 

Hence  we  find  that  the  girl  who  is 
most  fondly  wanted,  by  the  members  of 
her  own  family,  by  her  schoolmates,  and 
by  all  with  whom  she  shall  form  an 
acquaintance,  is  the  one  who  is  as  pleas- 
ing in  her  manners  as  she  is  beautiful 
in  her  physical  features. 

Of  all  the  accomplishments  it  is  pos- 
sible for  a  girl  to  possess,  that  of  being 
pleasant  and  gracious  to  those  about  her 
is  the  greatest  and  most  desirable. 
"There  is  no  beautifier  of  the  complex- 

29 


When  we  cease  to 
learn,  we  cease  to  be 
interesting.  —  JOHN 
LANCASTER  SPALDING. 


The  workless  peo- 
ple are  the  worthless 
people. — WM.  C.  GAN- 


Our  ideals  are  our 
better  selves. — BHON- 
SON  ALCOTT. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


All  literature  art, 
and  science  are  vain, 
and  worse,  if  they  do 
not  enable  you  to  be 
glad,  and  glad,  justly. 
— RUSKIN. 


All  things  else  are 
of  the  earth,  but  love 
is  of  the  sky. — WIL- 
L  i  A  M  STANLEY 
BRAITHWAITE. 


To  fill  the  hour, 
that  is  happiness.— 
EMERSON. 


ion,  or  form,  or  behavior,  like  the  wish  to 
scatter  joy  and  not  pain  around  us," 
says  Emerson. 

It  is  possible  for  persons  to  acquire  a 
great  deal  of  information  and  to  become 
skillful  in  many  things  and  still  be  un- 
loved by  those  with  whom  they  are  as- 
sociated. 

The  heart  needs  to  be  educated  even 
more  than  the  mind,  for  it  is  the  heart 
that  dominates  and  colors  and  gives 
character  and  meaning  to  the  whole  of 
life.  Even  the  kindest  of  words  have 
little  meaning  unless  there  is  a  kind 
heart  to  make  them  stand  for  something 
that  will  live. 

"You  will  find  as  you  look  back 
upon  your  life,"  says  Drummond,  "that 
the  moments  that  stand  out,  the  mo- 
ments when  you  have  really  lived,  are 
the  moments  when  you  have  done  things 
in  a  spirit  of  love.  As  memory  scans 
the  past,  above  and  beyond  all  the  tran- 
sitory pleasures  of  life,  there  leap  for- 
ward those  supreme  hours  when  you 
have  been  enabled  to  do  unnoticed  kind- 
nesses to  those  round  about  you,  things 
too  trifling  to  speak  about,  but  which 
you  feel  have  entered  into  your  eternal 
30 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


life  .  .  .  Everything  else  in  our  lives  is 
transitory.  Every  other  good  is  vis- 
ionary. But  the  acts  of  love  which  no 
man  knows  about,  or  can  ever  know 
about — they  never  fail." 

It  is  the  ability  to  do  the  many  little 
acts  of  kindness,  and  to  make  the  most 
of  all  the  opportunities  for  gladding  the 
lives  of  others,  that  constitute  the  finest 
accomplishment  any  girl  can  acquire. 

It  often  happens  that  the  thought  of 
the  great  kindnesses  we  should  like  to 
do,  and  which  we  mean  to  do,  "some- 
time" in  the  days  to  come,  keeps  us  from 
seeing  the  many  little  favors  we  could, 
if  we  would,  grant  to  those  just  about  us 
at  the  present  time.  Yet  we  all  know 
that  it  is  not  the  things  we  are  going 
to  do  that  really  count.  It  is  the  thing 
that  we  do  do  that  is  worth  while. 

No  doubt  we  should  all  be  much  more 
thoughtful  of  our  many  present  oppor- 
tunities and  make  better  use  of  them 
were  we  frequently  to  ask  ourselves, 

WHAT  HAVE  WE  DONE  TO-DAY? 

We  shall  do  so  much  in  the  years  to  come, 
But  what  have  we  done  to-day? 
31 


Ah,  well  that  in  a 
wintry  hour  the  heart 
can  sing  a  summer 
song. — EDWARD  FRAN- 
CIS BURNS. 


Avast  there!  Keep 
a  bright  lookout  for- 
ward and  good  luck 
to  you.  —  DICKENS. 


Genius  is  the  tran- 
scendent capacity  for 
taking  trouble  first  of 
all. — CARLYLE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


For  dreams,  to 
those  of  steadfast 
hope  and  will,  are 
things  wherewith  they 
build  their  world  of 
fact.— ALICIA  K.  VAN 
BUREN. 


No  man  can  rest 
who  has  nothing  to 
do.— SAM  WALTER 
Foss. 


Love  is  the  leaven 
of  existence. — MELVIN 
L.  SEVERY. 


We  shall  give  our  gold  in  a  princely  sum, 

But  what  did  we  give  to-day? 
We  shall  lift  the  heart  and  dry  the  tear, 
We  shall  plant  a  hope  in  the  place  of  fear, 
We  shall  speak  the  words  of  love  and  cheer ; 
But  what  did  we  speak  to-day  ? 

We  shall  be  so  kind  in  the  after  while, 

But  what  have  we  been  to-day? 
We  shall  bring  each  lonely  life  a  smile, 
But  what  have  we  brought  to-day? 
We  shall  give  to  truth  a  grander  birth, 
And  to  steadfast  faith  a  deeper  worth, 
We  shall  feed  the  hungering  souls  of  earth ; 
But  whom  have  we  fed  to-day? 

We  shall  reap  such  joys  in  the  by  and  by, 
But  what  have  we  sown  to-day? 

We  shall  build  us  mansions  in  the  sky, 
But  what  have  we  built  to-day? 

T  is  sweet  in  idle  dreams  to  bask, 

But  here  and  now  do  we  do  our  task? 

Yes,  this  is  the  thing  our  souls  must  ask, 
"What  have  we  done  to-day  ?" 

Among  the  every-day  accomplish- 
ments which  everyone  should  wish  to 
possess  is  a  knowledge  of  the  fine  art  of 
smiling.  To  know  how  and  when  to 
smile,  not  too  much  and  not  too  little, 
is  a  fine  mental  and  social  possession. 

Hawthorne  says:  "If  I  value  myself 
32 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


on  anything  it  is  on  having  a  smile  that 
children  love."  Any  one  possessing  a 
smile  that  children  as  well  as  others  may 
love  is  to  be  congratulated.  A  pleasant, 
smiling  face  is  of  great  worth  to  its  pos- 
sessor and  to  the  world  that  is  priv- 
ileged to  look  upon  it. 

A  smile  is  an  indication  that  the  one 
who  is  smiling  is  happy  and  every  happy 
person  helps  to  make  every  one  else 
happy.  Yet  we  all  understand  that  hap- 
piness does  not  mean  smiling  all  the 
time.  There  is  truly  nothing  more  dis- 
tressing than  a  giggler  or  one  who  is  for- 
ever grimacing.  "True  happiness,"  says 
one  of  our  most  cheerful  writers,  "means 
the  joyous  sparkle  in  the  eye  and  the 
little,  smiling  lines  in  the  face  that  are 
so  quickly  and  easily  distinguished  from 
the  lines  produced  by  depression  and 
frowning  that  grow  deeper  and  deeper 
until  they  become  as  hard  and  severe  as 
if  they  were  cut  in  stone."  Such  happi- 
ness is  one  of  the  virtues  which  people 
of  all  classes  and  ages,  the  world  over, 
admire  and  enjoy.  "We  do  not  know 
what  ripples  of  healing  are  set  in  mo- 
tion," says  Henry  Drummond,  "when 
we  simply  smile  on  one  another.  Chris- 

33 


Work  is  no  dis- 
grace but  idleness  is. 
— HESIOD. 


Shoddy  work  is  not 
only  a  wrong  to  a 
man's  own  personal 
integrity,  hurting  his 
character;  but  also  it 
is  a  wrong  to  society. 
Truthfulness  in  work 
is  as  much  demanded 
a  s  truthfulness  i  n 
speech.  —  HUGH 
BLACK. 


The  flowering  of 
civilization  is  in  the 
finished  man,  the  man 
of  sense,  of  grace,  of 
accomplishment,  of 
social  power — the  gen- 
tleman.— RALPH  WAL- 
DO EMERSON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


It  is  all  very  well  to 
growl  at  the  colcl- 
heartedness  of  the 
world,  but  which  of 
us  can  truthfully  say 
that  he  has  done  as 
much  for  others  as 
others  have  done  for 
him?  —  PATRICK 
FLYNN. 


A  man  is  relieved 
and  gay  when  he  has 
put  his  heart  into  his 
work,  and  done  his 
best ;  but  what  he  has 
said  or  done  other- 
wise, shall  give  him 
no  peace.  —  EMERSON. 


Some  people  meet 
us  like  the  mountain 
air  and  thrill  our  souls 
with  freshness  and  de- 
light.—NATHAN  HAS- 
KELL  DOLE. 


tianity  wants  nothing  so  much  in  the 
world  as  sunny  people." 

Most  persons  are  very  quick  to  see 
whether  or  not  a  smile  is  genuine  or  is 
manufactured  and  put  on  like  a  mask 
for  the  occasion.  The  automatic,  stock- 
in-trade  smile  hardly  ever  fits  the  face 
that  tries  to  wear  it.  It  is  a  little  too 
wide  or  sags  at  the  corners  or  some- 
thing else  is  wrong  with  it. 

A  smile  may  be  as  deep  as  a  well  and 
as  wide  as  a  church  door;  it  may  be 
"sweeter  than  honey,"  but  the  instant 
we  detect  that  it  is  not  genuine,  it  loses 
its  charm  and  becomes,  in  fact,  much 
worse  than  no  smile  at  all.  Smiles  that 
are  genuine  are  always  just  right  both  in 
quality  and  quantity.  So  the  only  really 
safe  rule  is  for  us  not  to  smile  until  we 
feel  like  it  and  then  we  shall  get  on  all 
right.  And  we  ought  to  feel  like  smil- 
ing whenever  we  look  into  the  honest 
face  of  any  fellow  being.  A  smile  passes 
current  in  every  country  as  a  mark  of 
distinction. 

But  it  is  even  possible  to  overdo  in 

the  matter  of  smiling.   "I  can't  think  of 

anything  more  irritating  to  the  average 

human    being,"    says     Lydia    Horton 

34 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


Knowles,  "than  an  incessant,  everlast- 
ing smile.  There  are  people  who  have 
it.  When  things  go  wrong  they  have 
a  patient,  martyr-like  smile,  and  when 
things  go  right  they  have  a  dutifully 
pleasant  smile  which  has  all  the  appear- 
ance of  being  mechanical,  and  purely  a 
pose.  Now  I  think  the  really  intelligent 
person  is  the  one  who  can  look  as  though 
he  realized  the  significance  of  various 
incidents  or  happenings  and  who  can 
look  sorrowful,  even,  if  the  occasion  de- 
mands it.  It  is  not  a  pleasant  thing 
to  suffer  mentally  or  physically,  for  in- 
stance, and  have  any  one  come  up  to  you 
with  a  smile  of  patient,  sweet  condol- 
ence. The  average  man  or  woman  does 
not  want  smiles  when  he  or  she  is  uncom- 
fortable. We  are  apt  to  remember  that 
it  is  easy  enough  to  smile  when  it  is 
somebody  else  who  has  the  pain.  I  ven- 
ture to  say  that  a  smile  given  at  the 
wrong  moment  is  far  more  dangerous  to 
human  happiness  than  the  lack  of  a  smile 
at  any  given  psychological  moment. 
There  is  a  time  and  a  place  for  all  things, 
even  a  smile." 

No  expression  of  feeling  is  of  much 
moment  without  a  warm  heart  and  an 

35 


I  let  the  willing 
winter  bring  his  jew- 
eled buds  of  frost  and 
snow. — EDWARD  FRAN- 
CIS BURNS. 


The  world  is  un- 
finished ;  let 's  mold  it 
a  bit. — SAM  WALTER 
Foss. 


Our  wishes  are  pre- 
sentiments of  the  ca- 
pabilities which  1  i  e 
within  us  and  har- 
bingers of  that  which 
we  shall  be  in  a  condi- 
tion to  perform.  — 
GOETHE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Do  not  let  us  over- 
look the  wayside  flow- 
ers.—JOE  MITCHELL 
CHAPPLE. 


Quiet  minds  cannot 
be  perplexed  or  fright- 
ened, but  go  on  in  for- 
tune or  misfortune  at 
their  own  private 
pace,  like  a  clock  dur- 
ing a  thunderstorm.— 
R.  L.  STEVENSON. 


The  wealth  of  a 
man  is  the  number  of 
things  which  he  loves 
and  blesses,  and  by 
which  he  is  loved  and 
blessed. — CARLYLE. 


intelligent  thought  behind  it.  The  seem- 
ingly mechanical,  automatic  expressions 
of  feeling  and  of  interest  in  our  affairs 
are  sometimes  even  harder  to  bear  than 
an  out  and  out  attitude  of  indifference. 
The  thing  that  really  warms  and  moves 
us  is  a  touch  of  heartfelt,  intelligent 

SYMPATHY 

When  the  clouds  begin  to  lower, 

That 's  a  splendid  time  to  smile ; 
But  your  smile  will  lose  its  power 

If  you  're  smiling  all  the  while. 
Now  and  then  a  sober  season, 

Now  and  then  a  jolly  laugh : 
We  like  best,  and  there  's  a  reason, 

A  good,  wholesome  half  and  half. 

When  the  other  one  has  trouble, 

We  should  feel  that  trouble,  too, 
For,  were  we  with  joy  to  bubble 

'Mid  his  grief,  't  would  hardly  do. 
Let  us  own  that  keen  discerning 

That  can  see  and  bear  a  part ; 
For  the  whole  wide  world  is  yearning 

For  a  sympathetic  heart. 

Nothing  is  more  restful  and  refreshing 

than  a  friendly  glance  or  a  kindly  word 

offered  to  us  in  the  midst  of  our  daily 

rounds  of  duty.    And  since  we  are  not 

36 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


often  in  a  position  to  grant  great  favors 
we  should  not  fail  to  cultivate  the  habit 
of  bestowing  small  ones  whenever  we 
can.  It  is  in  giving  the  many  little  lifts 
along  the  way  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
lighten  many  burdens. 

I  do  not  know  it  to  be  a  fact,  but  I 
have  read  it  somewhere  in  the  books 
that  the  human  heart  rests  nine  hours 
out  of  every  twenty-four.  It  manages 
to  steal  little  bits  of  rest  between  beats, 
and  thus  it  is  ever  refreshed  and  able  to 
go  on  performing  the  work  nature  has 
assigned  for  it  to  do. 

And  therein  is  a  first-rate  lesson  for 
most  persons,  who  if  they  cannot  do 
something  of  considerable  moment  are 
disposed  to  do  nothing  at  all.  They  for- 
get that  it  is  the  brief  three-minute  rests 
that  enable  the  mountain-climber  to 
press  on  till  he  reaches  the  top  whereas 
longer  periods  of  inactivity  might  serve 
to  stiffen  his  limbs  and  impede  his  pro- 
gress. 

Wise  are  they  who,  like  the  human 
heart,  sprinkle  rest  and  kindness  and 
heart's-ease  all  through  their  daily 
tasks.  They  weave  a  bright  thread  of 
thankful  happiness  through  the  web 

37 


The  stoical  scheme 
o  f  supplying  our 
wants  by  lopping  off 
our  desires  is  like 
cutting  off  our  feet 
when  we  want  shoes. 
— JONATHAN  SWIFT. 


Whatever  is  worth 
doing  at  all,  is  worth 
doing  well. —  LORD 
CHESTERFIELD. 


Indulge  not  in  vain 
regrets  for  the  past, 
in  vainer  resolves  for 
the  future — act,  act  in 
the  present  — F.  W. 
ROBERTSON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


The  past  cannot  be 
changed.  The  future 
is  yet  in  our  power. — 
HUGH  WHITE. 


The  man  who  can- 
not be  practical  and 
mix  his  religion  with 
his  business  is  either 
in  the  wrong  religion 
or  in  the  wrong  busi- 
ness.  —  PATRICK 
FLYNN. 


I  don't  think  there 
is  a  pleasure  in  the 
world  that  can  be 
compared  with  an 
honest  joy  in  con- 
quering a  difficult 
task.  —  MARGARET  E. 
SANGSTER. 


and  woof  of  life's  pattern.  They  are 
never  too  busy  to  say  a  kind  word  or  to 
do  a  gentle  deed.  They  may  be  com- 
pelled to  sigh  betimes,  but  amid  their 
sighs  are  smiles  that  drive  away  the 
cares.  They  find  sunbeams  scattered 
in  the  trail  of  every  cloud.  They  gather 
flowers  where  others  see  nothing  but 
weeds.  They  pluck  little  sprigs  of  rest 
where  others  find  only  thorns  of  distress. 

After  the  manner  of  the  human  heart, 
the)'  make  much  of  the  little  opportu- 
nities presented  to  them.  They  rest  that 
they  may  have  strength  for  others. 
They  gather  sunshine  with  which  to  dis- 
pel the  shadows  about  them. 

The  grandest  conception  of  life  is  to 
esteem  it  as  an  opportunity  for  making 
others  happy.  He  who  is  most  true  to 
his  higher  self  is  truest  to  the  race.  The 
lamp  that  shines  brightest  gives  the  most 
light  to  all  about  it.  Thoreau  says :  "To 
enjoy  a  thing  exclusively  is  commonly 
to  exclude  yourself  from  the  true  enjoy- 
ment of  life." 

He  is,  indeed,  a  correct  observer  and 
a  careful  student  of  human  nature  who 
tells  us  that  the  face  is  such  an  index  of 
character  that  the  very  growth  of  the 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


latter  can  be  traced  upon  the  former, 
and  most  of  the  successive  lines  that 
carve  the  furrowed  face  of  age  out  of 
the  smooth  outline  of  childhood  are  en- 
graved directly  or  indirectly  by  mind. 
There  is  no  beautifier  of  the  face  like 
a  beautiful  spirit. 

So  we  see  that  if  we  have  acquired  the 
habit  of  wearing  a  pleasant  face,  or  of 
smiling  honestly  and  cheerfully,  we  have 
an  accomplishment  that  is  worth  more 
than  many  others  that  are  more  preten- 
tious and  more  superficial.  If  to  this 
accomplishment  we  can  add  another — 
the  ability  to  speak  a  pleasant  word  to 
those  whom  we  may  meet — we  are  not 
to  think  poorly  of  our  equipment  for  life. 

There  is  a  good,  old-fashioned  word  in 
the  dictionary,  the  study  of  which,  with 
its  definition,  is  well  worth  our  while. 
The  word  is  "Complaisance,"  and  it  is 
defined  as  "the  disposition,  action,  or 
habit  of  being  agreeable,  or  conforming 
to  the  views,  wishes,  or  convenience  of 
others;  desire  or  endeavor  to  please; 
courtesy;  politeness." 

Complaisance,  as  it  has  been  truly 
said,  renders  a  superior  amiable,  an  equal 
agreeable,  an  inferior  acceptable.  It 

39 


Every  right  action 
and  true  thought  sets 
the  seal  of  its  beauty 
on  every  person's 
face;  every  wrong  ac- 
tion and  foul  thought 
its  seal  of  distortion. 
— RUSKIN. 


Those  who  bring 
sunshine  to  the  lives 
of  others  cannot  keep 
it  from  themselves. — 
— J.  M.  BARRIE. 


Politeness  is  like  an 
air  cushion ;  there  may 
be  nothing  in  it,  but 
it  eases  the  jolts  won- 
derfully. —  GEORGE 
ELIOT. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Sloth  makes  a  1 1 
things  difficult,  but  in- 
dustry all  things  easy. 
—BENJAMIN  FRANK- 
LIN. 


Action  may  not  al- 
ways bring  happiness ; 
but  there  is  no  hap- 
piness without  action. 
— DISRAELI. 


We  would  willingly 
have  others  perfect 
and  yet  we  amend  not 
our  own  faults.— 
—  THOMAS  A 
KEMPIS. 


sweetens  conversation;  it  produces 
good-nature  and  mutual  benevolence;  it 
encourages  the  timid,  soothes  the  turbu- 
lent, humanizes  the  fierce,  and  distin- 
guishes a  society  of  civilized  persons 
from  a  confusion  of  savages. 

Politeness  has  been  defined  as  society's 
method  of  making  things  run  smoothly. 
True  complaisance  is  a  more  intimate 
quality.  It  is  an  impulse  to  seek  points 
of  agreement  with  others.  A  spirit  of 
welcome,  whether  to  strangers,  or  to 
new  suggestions,  untried  pleasures, 
fresh  impressions.  It  never  is  satisfied 
to  remain  inactive  as  long  as  there  is 
anybody  to  please  or  to  make  more  com- 
fortable. 

The  complaisant  person  need  not  be 
lacking  in  will,  in  determination,  or  in- 
dividuality. In  fact  it  is  the  complaisant 
person's  strength  of  will  that  holds  in 
check  and  harmonizes  all  the  other  traits 
of  character  and  moulds  them  into  a 
perfectly  balanced  disposition. 

Complaisance  rounds  off  the  sharp 
corners,  chooses  softer  and  gentler 
words  and  makes  it  easy  and  pleasant  for 
all  to  dwell  together  in  unity.  And  it 
never  fails  to  contribute  something  to 

40 


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 


the  enjoyment  of  everyone  even  though 
it  be 

ONLY  A  WORD 

Tell  me  something  that  will  be 
Joy  through  all  the  years  to  me. 
Let  my  heart  forever  hold 
One  divinest  grain  of  gold. 
Just  a  simple  little  word, 
Yet  the  dearest  ever  heard ; 
Something  that  will  bring  me  rest 
When  the  world  seems  all  distressed. 

As  the  candle  in  the  night 
Sends  abroad  its  cheerful  light, 
So  a  little  word  may  be 
Like  a  lighthouse  in  the  sea. 
When  the  winds  and  waves  of  life 
Fill  the  breast  with  storm  and  strife, 
Just  one  star  my  boat  may  guide 
To  the  harbor,  glorified. 


The  most  manifold 
sign  of  wisdom  is 
continued  cheer.  — 
MONTAIGNE. 


There  is  only  one 
cure  for  public  dis- 
tress —  and  that  is 
public  education,  di- 
rected to  make  men 
thoughtful,  merciful, 
and  just — RUSKIN. 


To  believe  a  busi- 
ness impossible  is  the 
way  to  make  it  so. — 
WADE. 


HARRIET    BEECHER     STOWE 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  JOY  OF  DOING 


LJALF-WAY,  half-hearted  doings 
*  never  amount  to  much.  Battles  are 
not  won  with  flags  at  half-mast.  No, 
they  are  run  up  to  the  very  tops  of  their 
standards  and  are  waved  as  far  toward 
the  heavens  as  is  possible. 

If  we  lack  enthusiasm  we  are  almost  as 
certain  to  fail  of  achieving  an  end  as  a 
locomotive  engine  that  lacks  steam  is  of 
climbing  the  grade.  Even  a  listless, 
lackadaisical  spirit  may  get  on  all  right 
so  long  as  the  path  of  life  is  all  on  a  level 
or  is  down  grade,  but  when  it  comes  to 
hill-climbing  and  the  real  experiences  of 
life  that  serve  to  develop  character,  it  is 
likely  to  give  up  the  contest  and  sur- 
render the  prize  it  might  win  to  other  and 
more  earnest  competitors. 

"If  you  would  get  the  best  results,  do 
your  work  with  enthusiasm  as  well  as 
fidelity,"  says  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott.  "Only 
he  can  who  thinks  he  can !"  says  Orison 

45 


What  I  must  do  is 
all  that  concerns  me, 
not  what  the  people 
think. — EMERSON. 


Gentle  words,  quiet 
words,  are,  after  all, 
the  most  powerful 
words.  —  WASHING- 
TON GLADDEN. 


Aim  above  morality. 
Be  not  simply  good; 
be  good  for  some- 
thing. —  THOREAU. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Nothing  will  be 
mended  by  com- 
plaints.—JOH  NSON. 


Peace!  Peace! 
How  sweet  the  word 
and  tender!  Its  very 
sound  should  wrang- 
ling discord  still. — 
NATHAN  HASKELL 
DOLE. 


The  Spartans  did 
not  inquire  how  many 
the  enemy  are,  but 
where  they  a  r  e. — 
Acis  II. 


Swett  Harden.  "The  world  makes  way 
only  for  the  determined  man  who  laughs 
at  barriers  which  limit  others,  at  stum- 
bling-blocks over  which  others  fall.  The 
man  who,  as  Emerson  says,  'hitches  his 
wagon  to  a  star/  is  more  likely  to  arrive 
at  his  goal  than  the  one  who  trails  in 
the  slimy  path  of  the  snail." 

Every  girl  knows  that  the  girl  friends 
whom  she  loves  best  are  the  ones  who 
are  alive  to  the  world  about  them  and 
who  feel  an  enthusiasm  in  the  tasks  and 
privileges  that  confront  them. 

Enthusiasm  is  the  breeze  that  fills  the 
sails  and  sends  the  ship  gliding  over  the 
happy  waves.  It  is  the  joy  of  doing 
things  and  of  seeing  that  things  are  well 
done.  It  gives  to  work  a  thoroughness 
and  a  delicious  zest  and  to  play  a  whole- 
souled,  health-giving  delight. 

Only  they  who  find  joy  in  their  work 
can  live  the  larger  and  nobler  life;  for 
without  work,  and  work  done  joyously, 
life  must  remain  dwarfed  and  undevel- 
oped. "If  you  would  have  sunlight  in 
your  home,"  writes  Stopford  Brooke, 
"see  that  you  have  work  in  it ;  that  you 
work  yourself,  and  set  others  to  work. 
Nothing  makes  moroseness  and  heavy- 
46 


THE    JOY    OF    DOING 


heartedness  in  a  house  so  fast  as  idle- 
ness. The  very  children  gloom  and 
sulk  if  they  are  left  with  nothing  to  do. 
If  all  have  their  work,  they  have  not  only 
their  own  joy  in  creating  thought,  in 
making  thought  into  form,  in  driving  on 
something  to  completion,  but  they  have 
the  joy  of  ministering  to  the  movement 
of  the  whole  house,  when  they  feel  that 
what  they  do  is  part  of  a  living  whole. 
That  in  itself  is  sunshine.  See  how  the 
face  lights  up,  how  the  step  is  quickened, 
how  the  whole  man  or  child  is  a  differ- 
ent being  from  the  weary,  aimless,  life- 
less, complaining  being  who  had  no 
work!  It  is  all  the  difference  between 
life  and  death." 

We  must  play  life's  sweet  keys  if  we 
would  keep  them  in  tune.  Charles 
Kingsley  says:  "Thank  God  every 
morning  when  you  get  up  that  you  have 
something  to  do  that  day  which  must 
be  done  whether  you  like  it  or  not.  Be- 
ing forced  to  work,  and  forced  to  do  your 
best,  will  breed  in  you  temperance  and 
self-control,  diligence  and  strength  of 
will,  cheerfulness  and  content,  and  a 
hundred  virtues  which  the  idle  will  never 
know." 


The  man  in  whom 
others  believe  is  a 
power,  but  if  he  be- 
lieves in  himself  he  is 
doubly  powerful.  — 
WILLIS  GEORGE  EMER- 
SON. 


The  secrecy  of  suc- 
cess is  constancy  to 
purpose. — DISRAELI. 


Men  talk  about  the 
indignity  of  doing 
work  that  is  beneath 
them,  but  the  only  in- 
dignity that  they 
should  care  for  is  the 
indignity  of  doing 
nothing.— W.  R.  HA- 

WEIS. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Share  your  happi- 
ness with  others,  but 
keep  your  troubles  to 
yourself.  —  PATRICK 
FLYNN. 


Neither  days,  nor 
lives  can  be  made  no- 
ble or  holy  by  doing 
nothing  in  them. — 
RUSKIN. 


Use  thy  youth  as 
the  springtime, 
wherein  thou  ought- 
est  to  plant  and  sow 
all  provisions  for  a 
long  and  happy  life. 
—WALTER  RALEIGH. 


All  the  introspective  thinkers  of  the 
world  have  agreed  that  nothing  else  is  so 
hard  to  do  as  is  "nothing."  It  is  un- 
wholesome for  one  to  have  more  leisure 
than  a  mere  breathing  spell  now  and 
then  for  the  purpose  of  setting  to  work 
once  more  with  renewed  energy. 

They  who  work  with  their  hearts  as 
well  as  their  hands  do  not  grow  tired. 
A  labor  of  love  is  a  labor  of  growing  de- 
light. "The  moment  toil  is  exchanged 
for  leisure,"  writes  Munger,  "a  gate  is 
opened  to  vice.  When  wealth  takes  off 
the  necessity  of  labor  and  invites  to  idle- 
ness, nature  executes  her  sharpest  re- 
venge upon  such  infraction  of  the  pres- 
ent order;  the  idle  rich  live  next  door 
to  ruin."  And  Burton  puts  the  case  even 
more  strongly  when  he  says:  "He  or 
she  that  is  idle,  be  they  of  what  condi- 
tion they  will,  never  so  rich,  so  well 
allied,  fortunate,  happy — let  them  have 
all  things  in  abundance  and  felicity  that 
heart  can  wish  and  desire, — all  content- 
ment— so  long  as  he  or  she  or  they  are 
idle,  they  shall  never  be  pleased,  never 
well  in  mind  or  body,  but  weary  still, 
sickly  still,  vexed  still,  loathing  still, 
weeping,  sighing,  grieving,  suspecting, 


THE    JOY    OF     DOING 


offended  with  the  world,  with  every  ob- 
ject, wishing  themselves  gone  or  dead, 
or  else  carried  away  with  some  foolish 
phantasy  or  other." 

But  riches  do  not  necessarily  have  to 
be  associated  with  idleness.  Riches 
rightly  employed  bestow  upon  the  pos- 
sessors of  them  the  blessed  privilege  of 
being  employed  in  the  kind  of  work 
where  they  can  serve  to  the  best  advan- 
tage and  do  most  for  their  fellowmen. 
Indeed,  the  possession  of  riches  places 
upon  those  who  have  them  the  moral 
necessity  and  obligation  of  doing  more 
and  better  things  in  the  world  than  is 
expected  of  the  ones  less  amply  supplied 
with  wealth.  "From  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  ability;  to  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  needs."  The  larger  responsi- 
bilities are  placed  upon  those  to  whom 
are  given  the  larger  means  of  achieve- 
ment. 

So  it  is  a  mistake  to  fancy  that  the  pos- 
session of  great  riches  would  relieve  us 
from  doing  all  the  tasks  and  duties  for 
ourselves  and  for  others  that  are  inevit- 
ably essential  for  the  physical  and  spir- 
itual health  and  happiness  of  all  man- 
kind. No  matter  in  whatever  walk  of 

-49 


To  have  ideas  is  to 
gather  flowers;  to 
think  is  to  weave 
them  into  garlands. — 
MADAME  SWETCH- 

INE. 


When  a  firm  decis- 
ive spirit  is  recogniz- 
ed, it  is  curious  to  see 
how  the  space  clears 
around  a  man  and 
leaves  him  room  and 
freedom. — JOHN  FOS- 
TER. 


That  person  is  blest 
who  does  his  best  and 
leaves  the  rest,  so  do 
not  worry.  —  A.  E. 
WINSHIP. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Work  is  the  best 
thing  to  make  us  love 
life. — ERNEST  REN  AN. 


If  you  want  to  be 
miserable,  think  about 
yourself, — about  what 
you  want,  what  you 
like,  what  respect  peo- 
ple ought  to  pay  to 
you,  and  what  people 
think  of  you. — 
CHARLES  KINGSLEY. 


Aspiration  carries 
one  half  the  way  to 
one's  desire. —  ELIZA- 
BETH GIBSON. 


life  we  may  find  ourselves,  we  must  ex- 
ercise our  muscles  or  they  will  become 
weak  and  useless;  we  must  stir  and  in- 
terest our  hearts  or  they  will  grow  hard 
and  unresponsive;  we  must  use  our 
minds  or  they  will  become  dull  and  in- 
active; we  must  employ  our  consciences 
or  they  will  grow  to  be  blind  and  unsafe 
guides  that  must  lead  us  into  dark  dis- 
tress. 

But  to  be  employed  does  not  mean 
that  we  must  necessarily  work  in  the 
fields,  or  in  the  factory,  or  in  the  office. 
There  are  a  thousand  ways  in  which  we 
may  serve  the  world.  The  only  require- 
ment is  that  we  shall  devote  a  portion 
of  our  time  and  energy  to  genuine  ser- 
vice in  behalf  of  our  brothers,  our  sis- 
ters, our  parents,  our  teachers,  our 
friends,  and  all  the  world.  And  we  must 
be  grateful  for  the  chance  to  serve  others 
and  deem  it  an  opportunity  rather  than 
an  obligation. 

And  above  all,  we  must  find  delight  in 
the  work  we  are  privileged  to  do.  "Every 
one  should  enjoy  life,"  writes  the  ever 
glad  and  inspiring  pen  guided  by  the 
hand  of  Patrick  Flynn :  "Life  was  made 
to  enjoy.  We  mean  life,  itself.  The 
SO 


THE    JOY    OF    DOING 


very  living  and  breathing.  It  is  a  divine 
pleasure  to  inhale  a  breath  of  fragrant 
air  out  here  in  the  country  these  charm- 
ing summer  mornings.  And  what  jew- 
els can  compare  in  color  or  brilliancy 
with  the  pearly  dewdrops  that  shine  and 
glisten  in  the  early  sun!  And  the  sun, 
itself!  The  great,  mysterious,  miracu- 
lous sun!  Its  myriads  of  vibrations 
dancing  in  the  warm  air  like  golden  fair- 
ies and  dazzling  one's  eyes  with  their 
wondrous  beauty !  Aye,  and  filling  one's 
soul  with  love  and  one's  body  with 
health.  And  in  the  evening  when  the 
day's  work  is  done  there  is  above  us 
that  mysterious  depth  of  star-spangled 
sky.  We  cannot  fathom  its  mystery  but 
like  a  stream  of  grace  descending  from 
heaven,  we  can  feel  the  cool,  refreshing 
dew  on  our  upturned  brow.  Until  at 
last  we  feel  that  we  should  like  to  take 
wing  and  actually  fly  up  among  those 
unknown  worlds  and  come  back  with 
the  story  to  our  readers.  And  even 
though  we  cannot  grow  the  wings,  we 
go  up  in  fancy  and  seldom  come  back 
without  some  new  tale.  The  message 
is:  'Live  life,  love  life,  enjoy  life,  if  you 
would  overcome  all  fear  of  death.'  " 

51 


The  best  thing  is  to 
do  well  what  one  is 
doing  at  the  moment. 

— PlTTACUS. 


To  work  and  not  to 
genius  I  owe  my  suc- 
cess.—  DANIEL  WEB- 
STER. 


No  thought  is  beau- 
tiful which  is  not  just, 
and  no  thought  can 
be  just,  that  is"  not 
founded  on  truth. — 
JOSEPH  ADDISON. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


The  loss  of  self-re- 
spect is  the  only  true 
beggary.  —  JOHN 
LANCASTER  SPALD- 

ING. 


The  tactful  person 
looks  out  for  opportu- 
nities to  be  helpful, 
without  being  obtru- 
sive. —  MARGARET  E. 
SANGSTER. 


It  is  labor  alone, 
backed  by  a  good  con- 
science, that  keeps  us 
healthy,  happy  and 
sane.  —  GODFREY 
BLOUNT. 


That  is  the  spirit  in  which  we  should 
look  upon  all  the  beauty  and  wonder 
about  us.  To-morrow  will  ever  be  a  joy- 
ous hope  and  yesterday  a  golden  mem- 
ory, if  we  are  thoughtful  regarding  the 
manner  in  which  we  live 

TO-DAY 

Let  's  live  to-day  so  it  shall  be, 
When  shrined  within  the  memory, 
As  free  from  self-inflicted  sorrows 
As  are  our  hopes  of  our  to-morrows. 

There  are  many  who  make  the  serious 
mistake  of  thinking  that  joyousness  and 
cheerfulness  are  only  for  the  play  hour 
and  are  not  to  be  made  a  part  and  factor 
of  the  time  we  must  devote  to  toil.  No 
view  could  be  more  faulty  and  regret- 
table. It  is  in  our  working  hours  that  we 
should  seek  to  be  cheerful  and  sunshiny. 
All  of  our  tasks  should  be  sweetened 
and  glorified  with  the  leaven  of  good 
humor. 

The  task  seems  never  very  long 
If  measured  with  a  smile  and  song. 

Listen    while    one    faithful    worker, 
Emory  Belle,  tells  us  how  she  carried 
52 


THE    JOY    OF    DOING 


the  spirit  of  good  cheer  to  her  daily  tasks 
and  what  came  of  it: 

"I  started  out  to  my  work  one  morn- 
ing, determined  to  try  the  power  of 
cheerful  thinking  (I  had  been  moody 
long  enough).  I  said  to  myself:  'I  have 
often  observed  that  a  happy  state  of 
mind  has  a  wonderful  effect  upon  my 
physical  make-up,  so  I  will  try  its  effect 
upon  others,  and  see  if  my  right  thinking 
can  be  brought  to  act  upon  them/  You 
see,  I  was  curious.  As  I  walked  along, 
more  and  more  resolved  on  my  purpose, 
and  persisting  that  I  was  happy,  that  the 
world  was  treating  me  well,  I  was  sur- 
prised to  find  myself  lifted  up,  as  it  were; 
my  carriage  became  more  erect,  my  step 
lighter,  and  I  had  the  sensation  of  tread- 
ing on  air.  Unconsciously,  I  was  smil- 
ing, for  I  caught  myself  in  the  act  once 
or  twice.  I  looked  into  the  faces  of  the 
women  I  passed  and  there  saw  so  much 
trouble  and  anxiety,  discontent,  even  to 
peevishness,  that  my  heart  went  out  to 
them,  and  I  wished  I  could  impart  to 
them  a  wee  bit  of  the  sunshine  I  felt  per- 
vading me. 

"Arriving  at  the  office,  I  greeted  the 
book-keeper  with  some  passing  remark, 

53 


Labor  was  truly 
said  by  the  ancients 
to  be  the  price  which 
the  gods  set  upon 
everything  worth 
having. —  LORD  AVE- 

BURY. 


Our  daily  duties 
are  a  part  of  our  re- 
ligious life  just  as 
much  as  our  devotions 


Our  doubts  are 
traitors,  and  make 
us  lose  the  good  we 
oft  might  win,  by 
fearing  to  attempt. — 
SHAKESPEARE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


The  finest  qualities 
of  our  nature,  like 
the  bloom  on  fruits, 
can  be  preserved  only 
by  the  most  delicate 
handling. — THOREAU. 


Energy  and  deter- 
mination have  done 
wonders  many  a  time. 
—DICKENS. 


Discretion  of  speech 
is  more  than  elo- 
quence: and  to  speak 
agreeably  to  him  with 
whom  we  deal  is 
more  than  to  speak 
in  good  words  or  in 
good  order.  —  F. 
BACON. 


that  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  have 
made  under  different  conditions,  I  am 
not  naturally  witty;  it  immediately  put 
us  on  a  pleasant  footing  for  the  day;  she 
had  caught  the  reflection.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  company  I  was  employed 
by  was  a  very  busy  man  and  much  wor- 
ried over  his  affairs,  and  at  some  remark 
that  he  made  about  my  work  I  would  or- 
dinarily have  felt  quite  hurt  (being  too 
sensitive  by  nature  and  education) ;  but 
this  day  I  had  determined  nothing 
should  mar  its  brightness,  so  replied  to 
him  cheerfully.  His  brow  cleared,  and 
there  was  another  pleasant  footing  es- 
tablished, and  so  throughout  the  day  I 
went,  allowing  no  cloud  to  spoil  its 
beauty  for  me  or  others  about  me.  At 
the  kind  home  where  I  was  staying  the 
same  course  was  pursued,  and,  where  be- 
fore I  had  felt  estrangement  and  want 
of  sympathy,  I  found  congeniality  and 
warm  friendship.  People  will  meet  you 
half-way  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to 
go  that  far. 

"So,  my  sisters,  if  you  think  the  world 

is  not  treating  you  kindly  don't  delay 

a  day,  but  say  to  yourselves :  'I  am  going 

to  keep  young  in  spite  of  my  gray  hairs; 

54 


THE    JOY    OF    DOING 


even  if  things  do  not  always  come  my 
way  I  am  going  to  live  for  others,  and 
shed  sunshine  across  the  pathway  of  all 
I  meet/  You  will  find  happiness  spring- 
ing up  like  flowers  around  you,  will 
never  want  for  friends  or  companion- 
ship, and  above  all  the  peace  of  God  will 
rest  upon  your  soul." 

And  all  of  this  was  brought  about  by 
a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  mind  and 
a  determination  to  look  upon  the  sun- 
shiny, rather  than  the  dark,  side  of  life. 
We  can  all  do  as  much.  It  is  for  us  to 
say  whether  we  will  be  happy  and  make 
others  happy,  or  whether  we  shall  be  dis- 
tressed and  thereby  distress  others. 

What  sort  of  girl  are  you  going  to 
be?  Are  you  going  to  make  the  world 
glad  or  sorry  that  you  are  in  it?  Why 
don't  you  decide,  as  you  read  these  lines, 
as  did  Emory  Belle  when  starting  to  her 
work  that  morning,  that  you  will  try  to 
carry  sunshine  and  not  gloom  into  the 
lives  of  all  you  meet?  Let  us  hope  that 
there  is  no  great  reform  in  this  matter  to 
be  worked  in  your  life ;  but  that  you  have 
ever  been  a  joy-bringer  and  not  a  gloom- 
maker. 

Therefore  let  us  look  well  to  the  atti- 

55 


Bread  of  flour  is 
good:  but  there  is 
bread,  sweet  as  honey, 
if  we  would  eat  it, 
in  a  good  book. — 
JOHN  RUSKIN. 


What  is  wrong  to- 
day won't  be  right 
to-morrow.  —  DUTCH 
PROVERB. 


We  are  only  so  far 
worthy  of  esteem  as 
we  know  how  to  ap- 
preciate.— GOETHE. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


We  are  grateful 
that  abundant  life  lies 
•waiting  in  the  heart 
of  winter,  and  there 
is  no  condition  where 
life  is  not.  —  ISABEL 
GOODHUE. 


Wishing  will  bring 
things  in  the  degree 
that  it  incites  you  to 
go  after  them. — MU- 
RIEL STRODE. 


It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  power  for 
good  of  a  bright,  glad 
shining  face.  Of  all 
the  lights  you  carry 
on  your  face  Joy 
shines  farthest  out  to 
sea.  —  ANONYMOUS. 


tude  of  mind  and  our  habit  of  looking  at 
things.  One  of  our  careful  students  of 
human  attributes  tells  us — and  the  truth 
of  which  we  all  know — "that  there  is 
nothing  surer  than  that  we  go  and  grow 
in  just  that  direction  in  which  our  mind 
is  most  firmly  fixed.  Hoarding  money 
absorbs  the  whole  time  and  mind  of  the 
miser;  how  to  scatter  it  is  the  chief 
thought  of  the  spendthrift.  Our  daily 
actions,  and  their  result  on  our  lives,  are 
the  effect  of  a  cause — and  that  cause  is 
invariably  our  previous  thought.  What 
you  think  most  of  to-day  will  be  most 
likely  what  you  will  repeat  to-morrow. 
Therefore  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  we  begin  to  think  as  deeply  as  pos- 
sible on  just  those  things  that  build  us 
up.  Half  the  work  is  already  done  if  we 
can  only  concentrate  our  minds  on  that 
which  we  desire  to  do.  It  is  the  mind 
that  drags  us  either  up  or  down.  Where 
that  leads  we  follow.  The  power  of  di- 
rection is  with  us,  but  we  cannot  send 
our  mind  in  one  direction  and  then  take 
the  opposite  road  ourselves.  Therefore, 
whether  we  are  moving  upward  or  down- 
ward in  the  scale  of  life  depends  on 
whether  we  are  thinking  up  or  thinking 
56 


THE    JOY     OF     DOING 


down.  This  is  a  truth  that  every  per- 
son's experience  will  prove  to  his  own 
satisfaction.  Thought  impels  action, 
action  forms  habit,  and  habit  rules  our 
lives.  So  that  no  matter  what  direction 
we  may  wish  to  take,  up  or  down,  it  is 
only  necessary  for  us  to  fix  our  mind  in 
the  desired  direction." 

So  let  us  pause  and  take  an  account 
of  stock  and  ascertain  whether  we  are 
thinking  ourselves  up  or  down,  whether 
we  are  building  truthfully  or  falsely, 
whether  we  are  going  forward  or  back- 
ward, 

JUST  THIS  MINUTE 

If  we  're  thoughtful,  just  this  minute, 

In  whate'er  we  say  or  do; 
If  we  put  a  purpose  in  it 

That  is  honest,  through  and  through, 
We  shall  gladden  life  and  give  it 

Grace  to  make  it  all  sublime ; 
For,  though  life  is  long,  we  live  it 

Just  this  minute  at  a  time. 

Just  this  minute  we  are  going 

Toward  the  right  or  toward  the  wrong, 

Just  this  minute  we  are  sowing 
Seeds  of  sorrow  or  of  song. 


57 


No  one  in  this 
world  of  ours  ever 
became  great  by  echo- 
ing the  voice  of  anoth- 
er, repeating  what  that 
other  has  said. — J.  C. 
VAN  DYKE. 


One  fault  mender 
equals  twenty  fault- 
finders.—  EARL  M. 
PRATT. 


Let  us  then,  be  what 
we  are,  speak  what 
we  think,  and  in  all 
things  keep  ourselves 
loyal  to  trut h. — 
LONGFELLOW. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


There  are  some  peo- 
ple whose  smile,  the 
sound  of  whose  voice, 
whose  very  presence, 
seems  like  a  ray  of 
sunshine,  to  turn 
everything  they  touch 
into  gold.— LORD  AVE- 

BURY. 


It  is  work  which 
gives  flavor  to  life. 
Mere  existence  with- 
out object  and  with- 
out effort  is  a  poor 
thing.  Idleness  leads 
to  languor,  and  lan- 
guor to  disgust — 

A  MI  EL. 


How  poor  are  they 
who  have  only  money 
to  give!— JOHN  LAN- 
CASTER SPALDING. 


Just  this  minute  we  are  thinking 
On  the  ways  that  lead  to  God, 

Or  in  idle  dreams  are  sinking 
To  the  level  of  the  clod. 

Yesterday  is  gone,  to-morrow 

Never  comes  within  our  grasp ; 
Just  this  minute's  joy  or  sorrow, 

That  is  all  our  hands  may  clasp. 
Just  this  minute !    Let  us  take  it 

As  a  pearl  of  precious  price, 
And  with  high  endeavor  make  it 

Fit  to  shine  in  paradise. 

One  who  finds  joy  in  the  doing  of 
things  can  work  more  easily  and  stead- 
ily than  one  who  works  unwillingly  and 
unhappily.  Good  nature  is  a  lubricant 
for  all  the  wheels  of  life.  It  changes  the 
leaden  feet  of  duty  into  the  airy  wings 
of  opportunity,  it  not  only  brings  happi- 
ness but  that  almost  necessary  adjunct 
of  happiness, — health. 

"In  the  maintenance  of  health  and  the 
cure  of  disease,"  says  Dr.  A.  J.  Sander- 
son, "cheerfulness  is  a  most  important 
factor.  Its  power  to  do  good  like  a  med- 
icine is  not  an  artificial  stimulation  of  the 
tissues,  to  be  followed  by  reaction  and 
greater  waste,  as  is  the  case  with  many 
drugs;  but  the  effect  of  cheerfulness  is 
58 


THE    JOY    OF    DOING 


an  actual  life-giving  influence  through 
a  normal  channel  the  results  of  which 
reach  every  part  of  the  system.  It 
brightens  the  eye,  makes  ruddy  the 
countenance,  brings  elasticity  to  the 
step,  and  promotes  all  the  inner  forces 
by  which  life  is  sustained.  The  blood 
circulates  more  freely,  the  oxygen 
comes  to  its  home  in  the  tissues,  health 
is  promoted,  and  disease  is  banished." 

When  we  note  how  generally  the 
members  of  the  medical  profession  as- 
cribe to  cheerfulness  the  very  highest 
of  health-giving  powers,  we  are  led  to 
think  that  the  wise  words  quoted  above 
possess  a  foundation  of  scientific  fact. 
"Faith,  hope  and  love,"  says  Charles  G. 
Ames,  "are  purifiers  of  the  blood.  They 
have  a  peptic  quality.  They  open  and 
enlarge  all  the  channels  of  bodily  vital- 
ity. As  was  learned  long  ago,  'A  merry 
heart  doeth  good  like  a  medicine/  And 
the  self-control  which  keeps  reason  on 
the  throne  and  makes  passion  serve  is 
the  best  of  all  domestic  physicians." 

So  the  girl  who  would  go  down  the 
paths  of  sunshine  will  put  joy  and  en- 
thusiasm into  her  work  and  into  her 
play.  She  will  practice  her  music  les- 

59 


Fear  begets   fear.— 
A.  E.  WINSHIP. 


What  an  absurd 
thing  it  is  to  pass  over 
all  the  valuable  parts 
of  a  man  and  fix  our 
attention  on  his  in- 
firmities !— ADDISON. 


There  can  be  no 
true  rest  without 
work  and  the  full  de- 
light of  a  holiday  can- 
not be  known  except 
by  the  man  who  has 
earned  it.  —  HUGH 
BLACK. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


The  more  we  do 
the  more  we  can  do; 
the  more  busy  we  are 
the  more  leisure  we 
have.— HAZLITT. 


Los  t— a  golden 
hour,  set  with  sixty 
diamond  minutes. 
There  is  no  reward, 
for  it  is  gone  forever. 
— BEECHER. 


Good  company  and 
good  conversation  are 
the  sinews  of  virtue. 
—STEPHEN  ALLEN. 


son,  take  up  her  studies  at  school,  assist 
in  performing  the  household  duties,  and 
in  doing  the  many  tasks  that  come  to 
her  hands  in  a  joyous,  whole-hearted 
manner. 

In  so  doing  she  will  make  a  pleasure 
of  that  which,  with  dull  complaining, 
would  be  a  drag  and  a  distress.  By  this 
cheerful  attitude  of  mind  she  will  be  able 
to  mold  all  things  to  her  will  and,  better 
still,  she  will  be  able  to  mold  her  will  to 
her  highest  ideal  of  splendid  woman- 
hood. For  none  can  doubt  that  man  is 
the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  to  a 
very  great  extent.  He  is  even  more  than 
that,  he  is  of  his  own  self 

THE  SCULPTOR 

I  am  the  sculptor :  I,  myself,  the  clay, 
Of  which  I  am  to  fashion,  as  I  will, 

In  deed  and  in  desire,  day  by  day, 
The  pattern  of  my  purpose,  good  or  ill. 

In  breathless  bronze  nor  the  insensate  stone 
Must  my  enduring  passion  find  its  goal ; 

Within  the  living  statue  I  enthrone 
That  essence  of  eternity,  the  soul. 

Nor  space  nor  time  that  soul  of  yearning  bars ; 
It  flashes  to  the  zenith  of  the  sky, 
60 


THE    JOY    OF     DOING 


And  dwelling  mid  the  mystery  of  the  stars, 
Aspires  to  answer  the  Eternal  Why. 

It  loves  the  pleasing  note  of  lute  and  lyre, 
The  lily's  purple,  the  red  rose's  glow ; 

It  wonders  at  the  witchery  of  the  fire, 
And  marvels  at  the  magic  of  the  snow. 

"Who  taught,"  it  asks,  "the  ant  to  build  her 
nest? 

The  bee  her  cells?  the  hermit  thrush  to  sing? 
The  dove  to  plume  his  iridescent  breast? 

The  butterfly  to  paint  his  gorgeous  wing? 

"The  spider  how  to  spin  so  wondrous  wise? 

The  nautilus  to  form  his  chambered  shell? 
The  carrier-pigeon  under  alien  skies, 

Who  taught  him  how  his  homeward  course 
to  tell?" 

By  force  or  favor  it  would  win  from  fate 
The  sacred  secret  of  the  blood  and  breath : 

Learn  all  the  hidden  springs  of  love  and  hate, 
And  gain  dominion  over  life  and  death. 

In  every  feature  of  this  sculptured  face 
Of  spirit  and  of  substance,  I  must  mold 

The  shining  symbol  of  a  grander  grace ; 

The  hope  toward  which  the  centuries  have 
rolled. 

Oh,  hands  of  mine  that  the  unnumbered  years 
Evolved  from  hoof  and  wing  and  claw  and  fin, 

'T  is  ours  to  bring  from  out  the  stress  and  tears, 
A  godlike  figure  fashioned  from  within. 

61 


A  triumph  is  the 
closing  scene  of  a 
contest.— A.  E.  WIN- 


Don't  forget  that 
the  man  who  can  but 
does  n't  must  give 
place  to  the  man  who 
can't  but  tries.— COM- 

TELBURO. 


Advise  well  before 
you  begin,  and  when 
you  have  maturely 
considered,  then  act 
with  promptitude. — 
SALLUST. 


I/3UISA    M.    ALCOTT 


CHAPTER  IV 


SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


I  WOULD  rather  be  right  than  presi- 
dent!" 

At  first  thought  those  words  seem  to 
be  the  declaration  of  an  unusually  up- 
right and  conscientious  person.  But  let 
us  study  them  a  little  more  deeply  and 
closely. 

The  desire  to  do  right  and  to  deserve 
the  approbation  of  all  good  people  is 
very  strong  in  every  human  breast.  Not 
until  a  man  has  lost  his  moral  sense  of 
values  would  he  trade  his  integrity  and 
self-respect  for  any  other  gift  the  world 
could  offer.  This  being  true,  who 
among  us  would  care  to  be  president  if 
in  order  to  occupy  that  exalted  position 
he  must  be  obviously  in  the  wrong? 

Thus  we  see  that  after  all  is  said  and 
done,  the  one  great  prize  for  which  we 
all  aspire  is  the  love  and  good  will  of  our 
friends  and  of  the  world.  For  no  matter 

65 


Each,  whatever  his 
estate,  in  his  own  un- 
conscious breast  bears 
the  talisman  of  fate. 
—  JOHN  TOWNSEND 
TROWBRIDGE. 


When  a  man  has 
not  a  good  reason  for 
doing  a  thing,  he  has 
one  good  reason  for 
letting  it  alone. — 
THOMAS  SCOTT. 


Once  a  body  laughs 
he  cannot  be  angry 
more.  —  JAMES  M. 
BARRIE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Success  is  usually 
the  result  of  a  sharp- 
ened sense  of  what  is 
wanted.  —  FRANK 
MOORE  COLBY. 


He  that  falls  in  love 
with  himself,  will 
have  no  rivals. — BEN- 
JAMIN FRANKLIN. 


A  sinful  heart  makes 
a  feeble  hand— WAL- 
TER SCOTT. 


how  much  of  wealth  and  fame  may  come 
to  us,  without  the  love  and  respect  of 
our  fellow  beings  we  must  ever  remain 
poor  and  friendless. 

He  is  the  richest  who  deserves  the 
most  friends.  Wealth  is  a  matter  of  the 
heart  and  not  of  the  pocket.  A  thousand 
slaves  piling  up  wealth  for  their  master 
cannot  make  him  rich.  It  is  not  that 
which  others  do  for  us  that  makes  us 
possessors  of  great  wealth,  but  that 
which  we  do  for  others.  All  true  riches 
are  self  made.  Only  when  the  hand  and 
the  heart  are  put  into  one's  work  does  it 
yield  a  lasting  worth.  In  the  final  true 
analysis  the  picture  forever  belongs  to 
the  painter  who  paints  it;  the  poem  to 
the  poet  who  writes  it ;  the  loaf  of  bread 
to  the  toiler  who  earns  it.  Wealth  may 
acquire  these  things  but  it  cannot  own 
them. 

Therefore  the  true  value  of  character 
is  something  that  each  must  achieve  for 
himself.  It  cannot  be  bought ;  it  cannot 
be  bequeathed  to  us;  it  must  be  earned 
by  each  individual  who  would  possess  it. 
Hence  it  is  that  these  great  riches  may 
be  acquired  by  all  who  desire  to  possess 
them. 


SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


Right 


Right 


Where  are  they  to  be  found? 
here. 

When  may  we  obtain  them? 
now. 

Do  you  care  to  learn  the  only  way  in 
which  you  can  come  into  possession  of 
them?  "Whoever  you  are  —  wise  or 
foolish,  rich  or  poor,"  says  Rebecca 
Harding  Davis,  "God  sent  you  into  His 
world,  as  He  sent  every  other  human  be- 
ing, to  help  the  men  and  women  in  it,  to 
make  them  happier  and  better.  If  you 
do  not  do  that,  no  matter  what  your 
powers  may  be,  you  are  mere  lumber,  a 
worthless  bit  of  world's  furniture.  A 
Stradivarius,  if  it  hangs  dusty  and  dumb 
upon  the  wall,  is  not  of  as  much  real  value 
as  a  kitchen  poker  which  is  used." 

So  we  learn  that  it  is  the  fine  practical 
spirit,  content  and  willing  to  do  the 
humble  things  which  are  possible  of 
achievement  that  is  doing  most  to  lift 
the  world  to  a  higher  and  better  plane. 
"Have  you  never  met  humble  men  and 
women,"  asks  Gannett,  "who  read  little, 
who  knew  little,  yet  who  had  a  certain 
fascination  as  of  fineness  lurking  about 
them?  Know  them,  and  you  are  likely 
to  find  them  persons  who  have  put  so 

67 


Look  within,  for 
you  have  a  lasting 
foundation  of  happi- 
ness at  home  that  will 
always  bubble  up  if 
you  will  but  dig  for 
it. — MARCUS  AURELIUS 
ANTONINUS. 


To  a  friend's  house 
the  road  is  never  long. 
—DANISH  PROVERB. 


Honest  toil  is  holy 
service;  faithful  work 
is  praise  and  prayer. 
— HENRY  VAN  DYKE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Give  me  the  toiler's 
joy  who  has  seen  the 
sunlight  burst  on  the 
distant  turrets  in  the 
land  of  his  desire. — 
MURIEL  STRODE. 


You  can  buy  a  lot 
of  happiness  with  a 
mighty  small  salary, 
but  fashionable  hap- 
piness always  costs 
just  a  little  more  than 
you're  making.  — 
GEORGE  HORACE  LORI- 


A  tart  temper  never 
mellows  with  age,  and 
a  sharp  tongue  is  the 
only  edged  tool  that 
grows  keener  with 
constant  use.— WASH- 
INGTON IRVING. 


much  thought  and  honesty  and  conscien- 
tious trying  into  their  common  work — 
it  may  be  sweeping  rooms,  or  planing 
boards,  or  painting  walls — have  put 
their  ideals  so  long,  so  constantly,  so  lov- 
ingly into  that  common  work  of  theirs, 
that  finally  these  qualities  have  come  to 
permeate  not  their  work  only,  but  so 
much  of  their  being,  that  they  are  fine- 
fibred  within,  even  if  on  the  outside  the 
rough  bark  clings." 

If  we  are  wisely  introspective,  we 
must  reach  the  conclusion  that  humble 
though  we  may  be,  we  are  after  all,  a 
component  part  of  the  great  expression 
of  being,  and  that  we  are  well  worth 
while.  Then  if  we  are  worth  while,  it  fol- 
lows that  all  we  do  is  worth  while,  for 
each  of  us  is,  in  the  end,  the  sum  of  all  the 
things  he  has  done.  Once  we  have  this 
idea  that  everything  stands  for  some- 
thing more  than  the  mere  thing  itself — 
that  it  is  correlated  in  its  influences  with 
all  the  other  things  that  we  and  all 
others  are  doing,  we  shall  invest  all  our 
tasks,  little  and  big,  with  more  of  pur- 
pose and  importance.  Emerson  says: 
"There  is  no  end  to  the  sufficiency  of 
character.  It  can  afford  to  wait;  it  can 
68 


SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


do  without  what  it  calls  success ;  it  can- 
not but  succeed.  To  a  well-principled 
man  existence  is  victory.  He  defends 
himself  against  failure  in  his  main  de- 
sign by  making  every  inch  of  the  road  to 
it  pleasant.  There  is  no  trifle  and  no 
obscurity  to  him:  he  feels  the  immensity 
of  the  chain  whose  last  link  he  holds  in 
his  hand,  and  is  led  by  it." 

Perhaps  no  other  every-day  virtue 
counts  for  so  much  in  the  general  welfare 
of  the  world  as  the  adapting  of  one's  self 
to,  and  the  making  the  most  of,  one's 
immediate  surroundings.  It  is  in  the 
hundreds  of  little,  unrecorded  deeds  of 
kindness  and  goodness  that  we  lay  the 
foundations  of  character.  And  because 
these  humble  lives,  that  mean  so  much  to 
the  other  humble  lives  with  which  they 
come  into  touch,  are  never  specifically 
named  and  shouted  by  the  multitudi- 
nous tongues  of  type,  that  many  fail  to 
see  in  them  the  elements  of  true  and 
noble  achievement  with  which  they  are 
crowned.  "The  most  inspiring  tales," 
it  has  been  truly  said,  "are  those  that 
have  not  been  written;  the  most  heroic 
deeds  are  those  that  have  not  been  told; 
the  world's  greatest  successes  have  been 


Where  there  is  one 
man  who  squints  with 
his  eyes,  there  are  a 
dozen  who  squint  with 
their  brains.  —  OLIVER 
WENDELL  HOLMES. 


When  a  true  genius 
appears  in  the  world 
you  may  know  him  by 
this  sign,  that  the 
dunces  are  all  in  con- 
federacy against  him. 
— JONATHAN  SWIFT. 


What  we  have  got 
to  do  is  to  keep  up  our 
spirits  and  be  neigh- 
borly. We  shall  come 
all  right  in  the  end, 
never  fear.  —  DICK- 
ENS. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Happiness  is  the 
feeling  we  experience 
when  we  are  too  busy 
to  be  miserable. — 
THOMAS  L.  MASSON. 


Duty  is  the  sublim- 
est  word  in  the  Eng- 
lish language.  —  GEN. 
ROBERT  E.  LEE. 


Optimism  is  the 
faith  that  leads  to 
achievement ;  nothing 
can  be  done  without 
hope.— KELLEK. 


won  in  the  quiet  of  men's  hearts,  the 
noblest  heroes  are  the  countless  thou- 
sands who  have  struggled  and  tri- 
umphed, rising  on  stepping-stones  of 
their  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

Since  it  is  these  humbler  every-day 
virtues  that  one  is  called  upon  oftenest 
to  exercise,  or  to  neglect,  it  is  apparent 
that  the  one  who  possesses  the  most  of 
them  and  who  cultivates  them  the  most 
earnestly  has  the  greatest  number  of  op- 
portunities of  winning  the  admiration  of 
others.  It  is  of  a  girl  possessing  this  fine 
adaptability  to  the  world's  workaday 
surroundings  that  "Amber"  draws  this 
pen-picture :  "Shall  I  tell  the  kind  of  girl 
that  I  especially  adore?  Well,  first  of 
all,  let  us  take  the  working  girl.  She  is 
not  a  'lady'  in  the  acceptance  of  the  term 
as  it  is  employed  by  many  members  of 
this  latter  day's  hybrid  democracy.  She 
is  just  a  blithe,  cheery,  sweet-tempered 
young  woman.  She  may  have  a  father 
rich  enough  to  support  her  at  home,  but 
for  all  that  she  is  a  working  girl.  She  is 
never  idle.  She  is  studying  or  sewing  or 
helping  about  the  home  part  of  the  day. 
She  is  romping  or  playing  or  swinging 
out  of  doors  the  other  part.  She  is  never 
70 


SOME   EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


frowsy  or  untidy  or  lazy.  She  is  never 
rude  or  slangy  or  bold.  And  yet  she  is 
always  full  of  fun  and  ready  for  frolic. 
She  does  not  depend  upon  a  servant  to 
do  what  she  can  do  for  herself.  She  is 
considerate  toward  all  who  serve  her. 
She  is  reverent  to  the  old  and  thoughtful 
of  the  feeble.  She  never  criticises  when 
criticism  can  wound,  and  she  is  ready 
with  a  helpful,  loving  word  for  every  one. 
Sometimes  she  has  no  father,  or  her  par- 
ents are  too  poor  to  support  her.  Then 
she  goes  out  and  earns  her  living  by 
whatever  her  hands  find  to  do.  She 
clerks  in  a  store,  or  she  counts  out 
change  at  a  cashier's  desk,  or  she  teaches 
school,  or  she  clicks  a  typewriter,  or 
rather  a  telegrapher's  key,  but  always 
and  everywhere  she  is  modest  and  will- 
ing and  sweet. 

"She  has  too  much  dignity  to  be  im- 
posed upon,  or  put  to  open  affront,  but 
she  has  humility  also,  and  purity  that 
differs  from  prudishness  as  a  dove  in  the 
air  differs  from  a  stuffed  bird  in  a  show- 
case. She  is  quick  to  apologize  when  she 
knows  she  is  in  the  wrong,  yet  no  young 
queen  ever  carried  a  higher  head  than 
she  can  upon  justifiable  occasions.  She 

71 


The  activity  and 
soundness  of  a  man's 
actions  will  be  deter- 
mined by  the  activity 
and  soundness  of  his 
thoughts. — BEECH  ER. 


VVn3t  men  w«uit  is 
not  talent,  it  is  pur- 
pose ;  not  the  power  to 
achieve,  but  the  will 
to  labor.  —  BULWER- 
LYTTOJI. 


We  judge  ourselves 
by  what  we  feel  capa- 
ble of  doing,  while 
others  judge  us  by 
what  we  have  already 
done. — LONGFELLOW. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


The  great  hope  of 
society  is  individual 
character.  —  CHAN- 
IS  ING. 


Concentrate  all  your 
thought  upon  the 
work  in  hand.  The 
sun's  rays  do  not  burn 
until  brought  to  a 
focus.  —  ALEXANDER 
G.  BELL. 


Associate  with  men 
of  good  quality  if  you 
esteem  your  reputa- 
tion, for  it  is  better 
to  be  alone  than  in 
bad  company. — GEORGE 
WASHINGTON. 


is  not  always  imagining  herself  looked 
down  upon  because  she  is  poor.  She 
knows  full  well  that  out  of  her  own  heart 
and  mouth  proceed  the  only  witnesses 
that  can  absolve  or  condemn  her.  If  she 
is  quick  to  be  courteous,  unselfish,  gentle 
and  retiring  in  speech  and  manner  in 
public  places,  she  is  true  gold,  even 
though  her  dress  be  faded  and  her  hat  a 
little  out  of  style.  You  cannot  mistake 
any  such  girl  any  more  than  you  can  mis- 
take the  sunshine  that  follows  the  rain 
or  the  lark  that  springs  from  the  haw- 
thorne  hedge.  All  things  that  are  bloom- 
ing and  sweet  attend  her!  The  earth  is 
better  for  her  passing  through  it  and 
heaven  will  be  fairer  for  her  habitation 
therein." 

How  fortunate  it  is  for  us  who  would 
practice  these  little  every-day  virtues 
that  we  do  not  have  to  wait  for  some 
noted  person  at  some  remote  time  to  tell 
the  world  that  we  are  striving  in  our 
own  humble  way  to  be  kind  and  thought- 
ful. There  is  some  one  within  the  sound 
of  our  voice  and  within  the  reach  of  our 
hand  who  will  be  glad  to  testify  to  our 
goodness. 

Kindness  is  never  shown  in  vain. 
72 


SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


The  gift  blesses  the  giver,  even  though 
the  one  receiving  the  gift  is  ungrateful. 
Consciously  or  unconsciously  we  exert 
an  influence  upon  all  who  come  within 
the  zone  of  our  being.  Surely  those  who 
know  us  best  ought  to  be  the  ones  to  ap- 
preciate us  the  most  intelligently.  If  we 
are  lovable,  will  they  not  love  us?  If 
we  love  them,  will  it  not  serve  to  make 
them  lovable?  Let  us  not  keep  the  nice 
little  attentions  and  the  carefully  se- 
lected words  for  the  stranger  and  the 
passer-by,  but  have  as  much  regard  for 
the  ones  of  our  own  intimate  family  cir- 
cle. We  should  be  happy  to  do  most  for 
them  who  do  most  for  us.  One  of  our 
students  of  human  happiness  says  to  us: 
"Get  into  the  way  of  idealizing  what  you 
have;  let  the  picturesqueness  of  your 
own  imagination  play  round  the  village 
where  you  do  live,  instead  of  the  one 
where  you  wish  to  live ;  weave  a  romance 
round  the  brother  you  have  got,  instead 
of  round  the  Prince  Perfect  of  a  husband 
whom  you  have  not  got."  And  Marcus 
Aurelius  says:  "Think  not  so  much  of 
what  thou  hast  not,  as  of  what  thou  hast ; 
but  of  the  things  which  thou  hast,  select 
the  best,  and  then  reflect  how  eagerly 

73 


The  public  school 
playground  transposes 
many  a  boy  from  a 
public  liability  to  a 
public  asset. — A.  E. 
WINSHIP. 


Real  coolness  and 
self-possession  are  the 
indispensable  accom- 
paniments of  a  great 
mind. — DICKENS. 


One  of  the  crying 
needs  of  society  is  the 
revival  of  gentleness 
and  of  a  refined  con- 
siderateness  in  judg- 
ing others. —  NEWELL 
D.  HILLIS. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


In  this  world  incli- 
nation to  do  things  is 
of  more  importance 
than  the  mere  power. 
— CHAPIN. 


Character  lives  in  a 
man,  reputation  out- 
side of  him.  —  J.  G. 
HOLLAND. 


Self-confidence  i  s 
the  first  requisite  to 
great  undertakings. — 
JOHNSON. 


they  would  have  been  sought  if  thou 
had'st  them  not." 

Culture,  itself,  is  but  a  composite  ex- 
pression of  our  simple,  every-day  virtues. 
It  must  be  measured  by  its  outward 
manifestation  of  regard  for  the  pleasure, 
happiness  and  advancement  of  others. 
Literary  culture  will  open  up  the  win- 
dows of  the  soul  that  the  light  of  virtue 
from  within  may  shine  forth  and  dispel 
the  darkness  of  vice  with  which  it  comes 
in  contact.  "Unless  one's  knowledge  of 
good  books — his  literary  scholarship — 
has  so  taken  hold  upon  him  as  to  make 
him  exemplary,  in  a  large  measure,  he 
cannot  be  said  to  be  cultured,"  says  one 
of  our  students  of  higher  ethics.  "His 
learning  should  cultivate  a  choice  and 
beautiful  address,  a  cheerful  and  loving 
countenance,  a  magnificent  and  spirited 
carriage,  a  refinement  of  manner,  an 
agreeable  presence." 

The  extent  to  which  we  may  feel  a 
sense  of  peaceful  satisfaction  at  the  end 
of  a  day,  depends  upon  how  we  have 
lived  that  day.  We  soon  learn  that  the 
day  means  most  for  us  in  which  we  do 
most  for  others.  If  we  have  lived  for 
self  alone,  it  has  been 

74 


SOME  EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


A  LOST  DAY 
Count  that  day  truly  worse  than  lost 

You  might  have  made  divine, 
Through  which  you  sprinkled  bits  of  frost 

But  never  a  speck  of  shine. 

"At  the  end  of  life/'  says  Hugh  Black, 
"we  shall  not  be  asked  how  much  pleas- 
ure we  had  in  it,  but  how  much  service 
we  gave  in  it ;  not  how  full  it  was  of  suc- 
cess, but  how  full  it  was  of  sacrifice;  not 
how  happy  we  were,  but  how  helpful  we 
were;  not  how  ambition  was  gratified, 
but  how  love  was  served.  Life  is  judged 
by  love ;  and  love  is  known  by  her  fruits." 

The  every-day  virtues  include  very 
many  fine  little  traits  that  serve  uncon- 
sciously to  make  our  paths  smoother, 
our  skies  bluer  and  all  of  life  more  glad 
and  golden.  They  constitute  a  habit  of 
doing  the  right  thing  at  all  times  and  so 
quietly  and  unostentatiously  that  no  one 
is  made  to  feel  any  sense  of  obligation. 
One  who  possesses  these  virtues  does  not 
wait  for  stated  times  and  occasions  to 
bestow  evidences  of  love  and  good  will 
upon  others,  but  like  a  flower  in  bloom 
spreads  the  fine  perfume  of  friendship 
upon  all  who  come  within  the  charmed 
presence.  Intuitively  and  unconsciously 

75 


Patience  is  a  neces- 
sary ingredient  of  ge- 
nius.— DISRAELI. 


Follow  your  honest 
convictions  and  be 
strong. — THACKERAY. 


Admonish  your 
friends  privately,  but 
praise  them  openly. — 
PUBLIUS  SYRUS. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Economy    is    of    it- 
self  a  great   revenue. 

— COMTELBURO. 


Grace  is  the  out- 
ward expression  of 
the  inward  harmony 
of  the  soul.  —  HAZ- 

UTT. 


Our  grand  business 
undoubtedly  is  not  to 
see  what  lies  dimly  at 
a  distance,  but  to  do 
what  lies  clearly  at 
hand. — CARLYLE. 


does  the  owner  of  these  virtues  follow 
the  precept  set  forth  by  the  philosopher: 
"I  shall  pass  through  this  world  but 
once;  any  good  thing  therefore  that  I 
can  do,  or  any  kindness  that  I  can  show 
to  any  human  being,  let  me  do  it  now. 
Let  me  not  defer  it  or  neglect  it,  for  I 
shall  not  pass  this  way  again."  And  in 
expressing  the  same  sentiment  Amiel 
says:  "Do  not  wait  to  be  just  or  pitiful 
or  demonstrative  towards  those  we  love 
until  they  or  we  are  struck  down  by  ill- 
ness or  threatened  with  death.  Life  is 
short,  and  we  have  never  too  much  time 
for  gladdening  the  hearts  of  those  who 
are  traveling  the  dark  journey  with  us. 
Oh!  be  swift  to  love,  make  haste  to  be 
kind !"  We  should  not  wait  till  some  sad 
experience  has  taught  us  the  rare  privi- 
lege we  may  now  own  of  offering 

A  ROSE  TO  THE  LIVING 
A  rose  to  the  living  is  more 

Than  sumptuous  wreaths  to  the  dead ; 
In  filling  love's  infinite  store ; 
A  rose  to  the  living  is  more, 
If  graciously  given  before 

The  hungering  spirit  is  fled, — 
A  rose  to  the  living  is  more 

Than  sumptuous  wreaths  to  the  dead. 
76 


SOME   EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


Of  all  the  homely  virtues  there  is  none 
more  to  be  commended  and  desired  than 
patience.  This  priceless  quality  of  mind 
puts  its  possessor  into  friendly  relations 
with  whatever  the  surrounding  condi- 
tions may  chance  to  be.  There  is  no  irri- 
tation, no  clash  of  interests,  no  lack  of 
organization  for  performing  to  the  best 
of  one's  ability  the  duties  of  the  moment, 
as  they  present  themselves  for  considera- 
tion. Nothing  is  so  conducive  to  success 
as  to  be  able,  calmly  and  patiently,  to  do 
to  the  best  of  one's  ability  the  tasks  that 
present  themselves.  "Success  in  life," 
says  one  of  our  students  of  the  world's 
problems,  "depends  far  more  upon  the 
decision  of  character  than  upon  the  pos- 
session of  what  is  called  genius.  The 
man  who  is  perpetually  hesitating  as  to 
which  of  two  things  he  will  do,  will  do 
neither."  On  the  other  hand  the  man 
who  hastily  and  impatiently  disposes  of 
the  problems  that  confront  him  also  im- 
pairs his  chances  for  making  the  best  of 
life. 

Have  you  ever  experienced  the  sorry 
realization  of  how  one  petulant  or  pee- 
vish member  of  a  household  can  destroy 
the  happiness  of  a  breakfast  or  dinner 

77 


Pull  on  the  oar  and 
not  on  your  influen- 
tial friends.  —  A.  E. 
WINSHIP. 


The  noblest  mind 
the  best  contentment 
hath. — SPENSER. 


To  be  usefully  and 
hopefully  employed  is 
one  of  the  great  se- 
crets of  happiness. — 

SMILES. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


The  man  who  has 
begun  to  live  more 
seriously  within,  be- 
gins to  live  more  sim- 
ply without.  —  PHIL- 
LIPS BROOKS. 


Everything  in  this 
world  depends  upon 
will. — DISRAELL 


A  man  is  valued  ac- 
cording to  his  own  es- 
timate of  himself. — 

COMTELBURO. 


hour?  What  would  otherwise  have 
been  a  pleasant  coming  together  of 
kindly  congenial  spirits  is  made  painful 
and  unprofitable  because  some  one 
lacked  the  patience  and  forbearance  to 
withstand  and  to  surmount  some  little 
trial  or  irritation  that  should  have  been 
promptly  dismissed  from  the  mind  and 
the  heart,  or  better  still,  which  never 
should  have  been  permitted  to  enter.  As 
has  been  truly  observed,  membership  in 
the  family  involves  the  recognition  that 
the  normal  life  of  the  individual  is  to  be 
found  only  in  a  perfect  union  with  other 
members;  in  regard  for  their  rights;  in 
deference  to  their  wishes;  and  in  devo- 
tion to  that  common  interest  in  which 
each  member  shares.  Each  member 
must  live  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  fam- 
ily. "Children  owe  to  their  parents  obe- 
dience, and  such  service  as  they  are  able 
to  render,"  says  Dr.  DeWitt  Hyde. 
"Parents,  on  the  other  hand,  owe  to  chil- 
dren support,  training,  and  an  education 
sufficient  to  give  them  a  fair  start  in  life. 
Brothers  and  sisters  owe  to  each  other 
mutual  helpfulness  and  protection." 

The  patient  disposition  to  do  the  best 
one  can,  this  day,  this  hour,  this  very 
78 


SOME   EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


moment,  counts  for  much  in  the  building 
of  a  life.  How  perfectly  is  its  whole  pur- 
pose set  forth  in  Channing's  "Sym- 
phony," in  which  he  so  beautifully  makes 
known  his  heart's  desire:  "To  live  con- 
tent with  small  means ;  to  seek  elegance 
rather  than  luxury;  and  refinement 
rather  than  fashion;  to  be  worthy,  not 
respectable,  and  wealthy,  not  rich;  to 
study  hard,  think  quietly,  talk  gently, 
act  frankly;  to  listen  to  stars  and  birds, 
to  babes  and  sages,  with  open  heart;  to 
bear  all  cheerfully,  do  all  bravely,  await 
occasions,  hurry  never.  In  a  word,  to  let 
the  spiritual,  unbidden  and  unconscious, 
grow  up  through  the  common.  This  is 
to  be  my  symphony." 

It  is  this  rare  sense  of  poise,  this  pa- 
tient regard  for  our  own  happiness  and 
that  of  others,  that  enables  some  sweet 
spirits  to  come  as  a  balm  for  all  the 
bruises  that  a  busy  world  can  put  upon 
us.  "There  is  no  joy  but  calm."  Until 
one  has  learned  to  do  his  work  pleasantly 
and  agreeably  he  has  not  mastered  the 
most  important  part  of  his  lesson. 
"Blessed  is  the  man  who  finds  joy  in  his 
work."  He  will  succeed  where  the  com- 
plaining, discontented  person  will  be  al- 

79 


All  men  wish  to 
have  truth  on  their 
side;  but  few  to  be  on 
the  side  of  truth. — 
WHATELY. 


Mightier  than  all 
the  world,  the  clasp  of 
one  small  hand  upon 
the  heart.  —  JOHN 
TOWNSEND  TROW- 

BRIDGE, 


The  truest  wisdom 
is  a  resolute  determin- 
ation.— NAPOLEON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Character  must 
stand  behind  and  back 
up  everything  —  the 
sermon,  the  poem,  the 
picture,  the  play.  None 
of  them  is  worth  a 
straw  without  it. — J. 
G.  HOLLAND. 


The  question  every 
morning  is  not  how  to 
do  the  gainful  thing, 
but  how  to  do  the  just 
thing.— JOHN  RUSKIN. 


Resolve  to  be  thy- 
self; and  know  that 
he  who  finds  himself, 
loses  his  misery.  — 
MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 


most  sure  to  fail.  So,  let  us  cultivate  this 
one  of  the  chief est  of  our  every-day  vir- 
tues. It  will  enable  us  to  give  to  every 
moment  the  proper  regard  for  its  value 
and  of  the  possibilities  it  offers  for 
achievement.  It  will  teach  us  that  dur- 
ing every  day,  every  hour,  every  mo- 
ment, there  is  time  for  politeness,  for 
kindness,  for  gentleness,  for  the  display 
of  strength  and  tenderness  and  high  pur- 
pose, and  for  the  exercise  of  that  degree 
of  patience  that  does  so  much  to  make 
life  big  and  broad  and  beautiful  in 

THIS  BUSY  WORLD 

It  is  a  very  busy  world  in  which  we  mortals 

meet, 
There  are  so  many  weary  hands,  so  many  tired 

feet; 
So  many,   many  tasks   are  born   with   every 

morning's  sun. 
And  though  we  labor  with  a  will  the  work 

seems  never  done. 
And  yet  for  every  moment's  task  there  comes 

a  moment's  time : 
The  burden  and  the  strength  to  bear  are  like  a 

perfect  rhyme. 
The  heart  makes  strong  the  honest  hand,  the 

will  seeks  out  the  way, 

Nor  must  we  do  to-morrow's  work,  nor  yes- 
terday's, to-day. 
80 


SOME   EVERY-DAY  VIRTUES 


We  scale  the  mountain's  rugged  side,  not  at 

one  mighty  leap, 
But  step  by  step  and  breath  by  breath  we  climb 

the  lofty  steep. 
Each   simple   duty   comes  alone  our  willing 

strength  to  try ; 
One  little  moment  at  a  time  and  so  the  days 

go  by. 
With  strength  to  lift  and  heart  to  hope,  we 

strive  from  sun  to  sun, 
A  little  here,  a  little  there,  and  all  our  tasks  are 

done; 
There  's  time  to  toil  and  time  to  sing  and  time 

for  us  to  play, 

Nor  must  we  do  to-morrow's  work,  nor  yes- 
terday's, to-day. 


I  hate  a  thing  done 
by  halves.  If  it  be 
right,  do  it  boldly;  if 
it  be  wrong,  leave  it 
undone. — GILPIN. 


What  we  need  most 
is  not  so  much  to  real- 
ize the  ideal  as  to 
idealize  the  real. — F. 
H.  HEDGE. 


61 


Ph"to|r*|.h,  CopTriiht.  1WH.  by  J.  K.  Purdj,  Bmton 

JULIA    WARD     HOWE 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  VALUE  OF  SUNSHINE 


people  like  you? 

Are  your  girl  playmates  and  class- 
mates fond  of  your  society?  Are  they 
eager  to  work  with  you,  play  with  you, 
go  strolling  or  sit  by  the  fire  with  you? 

This  one  fact  we  must  know;  if  we  are 
not  liked  it  must  be  because  we  are  not 
the  possessors  of  that  fine  quality  known 
as  "likableness."  And  if  those  who  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  know  us  and  our 
traits  of  character  do  not  love  and  admire 
us,  it  is  we  and  not  they  who  are  respon- 
sible for  their  state  of  mind.  For  as  sure 
as  the  warm  sunshine  attracts  the  flow- 
ers, and  the  fragrant  flowers  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  bee  to  their  store  of  honey, 
so  a  fine  likable  character  is  certain  to 
gain  and  to  hold  the  admiration  of  good 
friends  and  true. 

The  face  full  of  sunshine,  the  heart  full 
of  hope,  the  lips  that  are  speaking  pleas- 

85 


Kind  words  are 
worth  much  and  they 
cost  little. — PROVERB. 


The  happiness  of 
your  life  depends  up- 
on the  quality  of  your 
thoughts.  —  MARCUS 

AURELIUS     A  N  T  O  N  I- 
NUS. 


Always  laugh  when 
you  can;  it  is  a  cheap 
medicine.  Merriment 
is  a  philosophy  not 
well  understood.  It 
is  the  sunny  side  of 
existence. — BYRON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


To  do  something, 
however  small,  to 
make  others  happier 
and  better,  is  the  high- 
est ambition,  the  most 
elevating  hope,  which 
can  inspire  a  human 
being.  —  LORD  AVE- 
BURY. 


Happiness  gives  us 
the  energy  which  is 
the  basis  of  all 
health. — AMIEL. 


Not  in  the  clamour 
of  the  crowded 
streets,  not  in  the 
shouts  and  plaudits  of 
the  throng,  but  in  our- 
selves are  triumph 
and  defeat.  —  LONG- 
FELLOW. 


ant  words  of  good  cheer  and  joyous  faith 
in  the  world,  will  attract  friends  about 
them  as  certainly  as  the  magnetic  pole 
attracts  the  needle. 

The  girl  who  goes  among  the  people 
with  smiles  to  offer  will  find  very  many 
ready  to  receive  her  gracious  gifts,  but 
if  she  carries  with  her  sighs  and  frowns, 
instead,  she  will  learn  that  the  world 
wants  none  of  them. 

We  all  love  to  hear  pleasant  things. 
The  one  who  tells  us  that  he  thinks  it  is 
going  to  set  in  for  a  long  rainy  spell  of 
weather  is  of  less  worth  to  us  than  the 
one  who  says  he  thinks  that  the  clouds 
are  going  to  clear  away  and  that  we  shall 
have  a  beautiful  day  to-morrow. 

The  grandsire  who  tells  his  young 
friends  that  they  ought  to  be  glad  that 
the  grandest,  brightest  and  best  era  in 
the  world's  history  is  just  before  them, 
does  much  more  to  inspire  them  than 
does  the  one  who  tells  them  that  the  best 
days  of  the  world  were  "the  good  old 
days  of  long  ago,"  and  that  the  golden 
age  will  never  return  again.  Brooke  Her- 
ford  tells  us:  "There  are  some  people 
who  ride  all  through  the  journey  of  life 
with  their  backs  to  the  horse's  head. 
86 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


They  are  always  looking  into  the  past. 
All  the  worth  of  things  is  there.  They 
are  forever  talking  about  the  good  old 
times,  and  how  different  things  were 
when  they  were  young.  There  is  no 
romance  in  the  world  now,  and  no  hero- 
ism. The  very  winters  and  summers  are 
nothing  to  what  they  used  to  be;  in  fact, 
life  is  altogether  on  a  small,  common- 
place scale.  Now  that  is  a  miserable  sort 
of  thing;  it  brings  a  sort  of  paralyzing 
chill  over  the  life,  and  petrifies  the  nat- 
ural spring  of  joy  that  should  ever  be 
leaping  up  to  meet  the  fresh  new  mercies 
that  the  days  keep  bringing." 

Know  then,  my  young  friends,  that 
the  best  time  that  ever  was  is  the  present 
time,  if  you  will  but  use  it  aright.  It  is 
full  of  romance,  of  heroism,  of  splendid 
opportunity,  of  all  that  goes  to  consti- 
tute experience  and  to  develop  character. 
There  never  was  a  time  when  there  were 
more  good  things  to  be  done,  or  when 
greater  rewards  awaited  the  doers  of 
them.  The  summers  are  just  as  long  and 
bright  and  golden ;  the  roses  blossom  just 
as  numerously  and  as  sweetly;  human 
hearts  are  just  as  warm  and  kindly,  as 
they  have  been  at  any  time  in  the  world's 

87 


A  man  should  al- 
ways keep  learning 
something  — "always," 
as  Arnold  said,  "keep 
the  stream  running" — 
whereas  most  people 
let  it  stagnate  about 
middle  life. — ANONY- 
MOUS. 


A  smile  passes  cur- 
rent in  every  country 
as  a  mark  of  distinc- 
tion.— J  o  E  MITCHELL 
CHAPPLE. 


The  thoughts  of 
men  are  widened  with 
the  process  of  the 
suns. — TEN  NY  SON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


No  man  ever  sunk 
under  the  burden  of 
the  day.  It  is  when 
to-morrow's  burden  is 
added  to  the  burden 
of  to-day  that  the  bur- 
den is  more  than  a 
man  can  bea  r. — 
GEORGE  MACDONALD. 


Though  sorrow 
must  come,  where  is 
the  advantage  of  rush- 
ing to  meet  it  ?  It  will 
be  time  enough  to 
grieve  when  it  comes ; 
meanwhile,  hope  for 
better  things.  —  SEN- 
ECA. 


All  my  old  opinions 
were  only  stages  on 
the  way  to  the  one  I 
now  hold,  as  itself  is 
only  a  stage  on  the 
way  to  something  else. 
— R.  L.  STEVENSON. 


history.  Emerson  says:  "One  of  the  il- 
lusions is  that  the  present  hour  is  not  the 
critical,  decisive  hour.  Write  it  on  your 
heart  that  every  day  is  the  best  day  in 
the  whole  year." 

So  then  as  far  as  the  time  and  the  hour 
are  concerned,  there  is  nothing  in  our 
surroundings  to  make  us  morose  or 
gloomy  or  dispirited  or  indifferent  re- 
garding the  influence  we  are  exerting 
upon  those  around  us.  There  is  no  ob- 
vious reason  why  we  should  not  be  joy- 
ous and  happy  at  the  prospect  before  us. 
We  should  have  not  only  grace  enough 
for  our  own  personal  needs,  but  plenty  of 
it  to  spare  for  those  not  so  gladly  born  as 
ourselves. 

And  rich  beyond  computation  is  the 
one  who  has  joyousness  to  spare.  Better 
than  gold,  better  than  food  and  raiment 
and  all  material  things,  betimes,  is  a  ray 
of  sunshine  from  the  heart,  an  uplift  of 
saving  humor  from  a  merry  tongue.  "I 
have  often  felt,  myself,"  says  Benson, 
"that  the  time  has  come  to  raise  another 
figure  to  the  hierarchy  of  Christian 
graces.  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity  were 
sufficient  in  a  more  elementary  and  bar- 
barous age,  but,  now  that  the  world  has 
88 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


broadened  somewhat,  I  think  an  addi- 
tion to  the  trio  is  demanded.  A  man  may 
be  faithful,  hopeful,  and  charitable,  and 
yet  leave  much  to  be  desired.  He  may  be 
useful,  no  doubt,  with  that  equipment, 
but  he  may  also  be  both  tiresome  and 
even  absurd.  The  fourth  quality  that  I 
should  like  to  see  raised  to  the  highest 
rank  among  the  Christian  graces  is  the 
Grace  of  Humor." 

Splendidly  blest  is  that  household 
that  is  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  at  least 
one  member  gifted  with  the  grace  of 
good  humor.  One  such  person  in  a  home 
is  enough  if  there  cannot  be  more.  Just 
when  all  the  others  are  seriously  con- 
fronting what  seems  to  be  a  most  sad  and 
serious  condition  of  affairs  how  just  one 
word  of  illuminating  good  humor  can 
change  the  whole  point  of  view  and  send 
the  foreboding  proposition  glimmering 
into  nothingness.  "Do  you  know,  my 
dear,"  says  Mrs.  Holden,  "that  there  is 
absolutely  nothing  that  will  help  you  to 
bear  the  ills  of  life  so  well  as  a  good 
laugh  ?  Laugh  all  you  can  and  the  small 
imps  in  blue  who  love  to  preempt  their 
quarters  in  a  human  heart  will  scatter 
away  like  owls  before  the  music  of  flutes. 


Hasten  slowly,  and, 
without  losing  heart, 
put  your  work  twenty 
times  upon  the  anvil. 

— BOILEAU. 


Self-reverence,  self- 
knowledge,  self-con- 
trol— these  three  alone 
lead  life1  to  sovereign 
power. — TEN  N  YSON. 


It  is  curious  to  what 
an  extent  our  happi- 
ness or  unhappiness 
depends  upon  the 
manner  in  which  we 
view  things.  —  E.  C. 
BURKE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Those  who  never 
retract  their  opinions 
love  themselves  more 
than  they  love  truth. 

— JOUBERT. 


Truth  is  tough;  it 
will  not  break,  like  a 
bubble,  at  a  touch; 
nay,  you  may  kick  it 
about  all  day  like  a 
football,  and  it  will  be 
round  and  full  at 
evening.  —  OLIVER 
WENDELL  HOLMES. 


Good  manners  are 
made  up  of  petty  sac- 
rifices.— EMERSON. 


There  are  few  of  the  minor  difficulties 
and  annoyances  that  will  not  dissipate  at 
the  charge  of  the  nonsense  brigade.  If 
the  clothes  line  breaks,  if  the  cat  tips  over 
the  milk  and  the  dog  elopes  with  the 
roast,  if  the  children  fall  into  the  mud 
simultaneously  with  the  advent  of  clean 
aprons,  if  the  new  girl  quits  in  the  mid- 
dle of  housecleaning,  and  though  you 
search  the  earth  with  candles  you  find 
none  to  take  her  place,  if  the  neighbor 
you  have  trusted  goes  back  on  you  and 
decides  to  keep  chickens,  if  the  chariot 
wheels  of  the  uninvited  guest  draw  near 
when  you  are  out  of  provender,  and  the 
gaping  of  your  empty  purse  is  like  the 
unfilled  mouth  of  a  young  robin,  take 
courage  if  you  have  enough  sunshine  in 
your  heart,  to  keep  the  laugh  on  your 
lips.  Before  good  nature,  half  the  cares 
of  daily  living  will  fly  away  like  midges 
before  the  wind.  Try  it." 

What  a  world  of  inspiration  and  cheer- 
fulness in  the  motto  written  by  Edward 
Everett  Hale  for  the  Lend-A-Hand  So- 
ciety: "Look  up,  and  not  down ;  look  for- 
ward, and  not  back ;  look  out,  and  not  in ; 
and  lend  a  hand."  It  is  the  lifting  of  the 
burden  from  another's  tired  shoulder 
90 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


that  does  most  to  lighten  the  load  resting 
on  our  own. 

No  one  who  truly  is  conscious  of  the 
value  of  sunshine  upon  his  own  nature 
and  upon  the  spirits  of  those  with  whom 
he  comes  into  contact  will  ever,  for  one 
minute,  permit  himself  to  be  taken  pos- 
session of  by 

THE  "BLUES" 

"Blues"  are  the  sorry  calms  that  come 

To  make  our  spirits  mope, 
And  steal  the  breeze  of  promise  from 

The  shining  sails  of  hope. 

Margaret  E.  Sangster,  who  is  the  kind 
and  gracious  foster  mother  to  all  the  girls 
of  her  time  and  generation,  says  that  "be- 
ing in  bondage  to  the  blues  is  precisely 
like  being  lost  in  a  London  fog.  The  lat- 
ter is  thick  and  black  and  obliterates  fa- 
miliar landmarks.  A  man  may  be  within 
a  few  doors  of  his  home,  yet  grope  hope- 
lessly through  the  murk  to  find  the  well- 
worn  threshold.  A  person  under  the  ty- 
ranny of  the  blues  is  temporarily  unable 
to  adjust  life  to  its  usual  limitations.  He 
or  she  cannot  see  an  inch  beyond  the 
dreadful  present.  Everything  looks  dark 
and  forbidding,  and  despair  with  an  iron 

91 


The  aids  to  noble 
life  are  all  within. — 
MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 


Nothing  is  difficult; 
it  is  only  we  who  are 
indolent.— B.  R.  HAY- 
DON. 


It  is  a  serious  thing 
that  we  should  see  the 
full  beauty  of  our 
lives  only  when  they 
are  passed  or  in  vis- 
ions of  a  possible  fu- 
ture. What  we  most 
need  is  to  see  and  feel 
the  beauty  and  joy  of 
to-day.  —  MAURICE  D. 
CONWAY. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Let  us  enjoy  the 
scenery  of  the  present 
moment.  The  land- 
scape around  the  bend 
will  still  be  there 
when  our  life-train 
arrives. — HORATIO  W. 
DRESSER. 


If  we  cannot  get 
what  we  like  let  us 
try  to  like  what  we 
can  get.  —  SPANISH 
PROVERB. 


Men  continually 
forget  that  happiness 
is  a  condition  of  the 
mind  and  not  a  dispo- 
s  i  t  i  o  n  of  circum- 
stances.—LECKY. 


clutch  pins  its  victim  down.  People 
think,  loosely,  that  trials  that  may  be 
weighed  and  measured  and  felt  and  han- 
dled are  the  worst  trials  to  which  flesh  is 
heir.  But  they  are  mistaken.  Hearts  are 
elastic,  and  real  sorrows  seldom  crush 
them.  Souls  have  in  them  a  wonderful 
capacity  for  recovering  after  knock- 
down blows.  It  is  the  intangible,  the 
thing  that  one  dreads  vaguely,  that 
catches  one  in  the  dark,  that  suggests 
and  intimates  a  peril  that  is  spiritual 
rather  than  mortal;  it  is  the  burden  that 
carries  dismay  and  terror  to  the  imagi- 
nation." 

A  single  member  of  a  household  who 
is  given  to  having  "the  blues"  often  dark- 
ens a  home  that  would  otherwise  be 
bright  and  sunny.  Such  an  unfortunate 
person  should  bear  in  mind  that  when  a 
servant  is  employed  the  whole  house- 
hold expects  her  to  be  kind,  tidy,  indus- 
trious, moral,  gentle,  and,  above  all,  good 
natured  in  her  attitude  toward  all. 
Surely  the  daughter  of  a  household  can- 
not wish  to  feel  that  she  holds  her  posi- 
tion by  accident  of  birth,  and  that  if  her 
family  were  not  compelled  to  keep  her 
they  would  not. 
92 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


Charles  Dickens  says:  "It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  know  how  far  the  influence  of 
any  amiable,  honest-hearted,  duty-doing 
man  flows  out  into  the  world."  A  bright, 
cheerful,  sunshiny  daughter  in  a  home 
can  never  know  how  great  is  her  influ- 
ence for  making  the  little  household 
world  holier  and  happier  for  all  whose 
life  interests  are  centered  therein.  Ham- 
ilton Wright  Mabie  says:  "The  day  is 
dark  only  when  the  mind  is  dark;  all 
weathers  are  pleasant  when  the  heart  is 
at  rest."  Bliss  Carman  observes  that 
"happiness,  perhaps,  comes  by  the  grace 
of  Heaven,  but  the  wearing  of  a  happy 
countenance,  the  preserving  of  a  happy 
mien,  is  a  duty,  not  a  blessing."  This 
thought  that  it  is  one's  duty  to  be  happy 
is  set  forth  still  more  forcibly  by  Lilian 
Whiting :  "No  one  has  any  more  right  to 
go  about  unhappy  than  he  has  to  go 
about  ill-bred." 

The  girl  with  sunshine  in  her  thoughts 
and  sunshine  in  her  eyes  will  find  sun- 
shine everywhere.  Wherever  she  may 
go  her  gracious  presence  will  light  the 
way  and  make  her  every  path  more 
smooth  and  beautiful.  In  the  home,  in 
the  school,  amid  whatever  conditions 

93 


If  you  would  know 
the  political  and 
moral  condition  of  a 
people,  ask  as  to  the 
condition  of  its 
women. — AIME  MAR- 
TIN. 


Delicacy  in  woman 
is    strength.  —  LICH- 


Who  has  not  exper- 
ienced how,  on  nearer 
acquaintance,  plain- 
ness becomes  beauti- 
fied, and  beauty  loses 
its  charm,  according 
to  the  quality  of  the 
heart  and  m  i  n  d. — 
FRED  RIKA  BREMER. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Her  voice  was  ever 
soft,  gentle  and  low, 
— an  excellent  thing  in 
woman.  —  SHAKES- 
PEARE. 


Gentleness,  cheer- 
fulness, and  urbanity 
are  the  Three  Graces 
of  manners.  —  MAR- 
GUERITE DE  VALOIS. 


To  have  what  we 
want  is  riches,  but  to 
be  able  to  do  without 
is  power.  —  GEORGE 

MACDONALD. 


surround  her,  she  will  shine  with  the 
glow  of  a  rose  in  bloom.  She  will  see  the 
good  and  the  beautiful  in  the  persons 
whom  she  meets;  while  all  the  charms 
of  nature,  as  portrayed  in  field  and  forest, 
will  be  to  her  a  never-ending  source  of 
interest  and  enjoyment.  Above  all,  she 
will  warmly  cherish  life  and  look  upon 
it  as  being  crowded  with  priceless  oppor- 
tunities for  obtaining  happiness  for  her- 
self and  for  others.  She  will  be  filled 
with  the  same  exhuberant  spirit  of  joy  in 
the  mere  fact  of  her  being  that  Mrs.  Hoi- 
den  so  happily  sets  forth:  "I  love  this 
world.  I  never  walk  out  in  the  morning 
when  all  its  radiant  colors  are  newly 
washed  with  dew,  or  at  splendid  noon, 
when,  like  an  untired  racer,  the  sun  has 
flashed  around  his  mid-day  course,  or  at 
evening,  when  a  fringe  of  a  shadow,  like 
the  lash  of  a  weary  eye,  droops  over 
mountain  and  valley  and  sea,  or  in  the 
majestic  pomp  of  night  when  stars 
swarm  together  like  bees,  and  the  moon 
clears  its  way  through  the  golden  fields 
as  a  sickle  through  the  ripened  wheat, 
that  I  do  not  hug  myself  for  very  joy  that 
I  am  yet  alive.  What  matter  if  I  am 
poor  and  unsheltered  and  costumeless? 
94 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


Thank  God,  I  am  yet  alive !  People  who 
tire  of  this  world  before  they  are  seventy 
and  pretend  that  they  are  ready  to  leave 
it,  are  either  crazy  or  stuck  as  full  of 
bodily  ailments  as  a  cushion  is  of  pins. 
The  happy,  the  warm-blooded,  the 
sunny-natured  and  the  loving  cling  to 
life  as  petals  cling  to  the  calyx  of  a  bud- 
ding rose.  By  and  by,  when  the  rose  is 
over-ripe,  or  when  the  frosts  come  and 
the  November  winds  are  trumpeting 
through  all  the  leafless  spaces  of  the 
woods,  will  be  time  to  die.  It  is  no 
time  now,  while  there  is  a  dark  space  left 
on  earth  that  love  can  brighten,  while 
there  is  a  human  lot  to  be  alleviated  by 
a  smile,  or  a  burden  to  be  lifted  with  a 
sympathizing  tear." 

We  all  understand  that  it  is  not  so  dif- 
ficult for  us  to  be  bright  and  smiling  and 
gracious  toward  everyone  when  there  is 
naught  to  disturb  the  serenity  of  our 
thoughts,  and  when  nothing  happens  to 
interfere  with  the  fulfillment  of  our 
wishes.  But  when  things  go  "at  sixes 
and  sevens,"  when  our  dearest  purposes 
are  thwarted,  when  some  one  is  about  to 
gain  the  place  or  prize  which  we  covet, 
when  we  are  forced  to  stay  within  doors 

95 


A  man  is  rich  in 
proportion  to  the 
number  of  things 
which  he  can  afford 
to  let  alone.  —  THOR- 
EAU. 


In  truth,  how  could 
I  feel  this  gladness 
now  had  I  not  known 
the  bitterness  of  woe. 
—ALICIA  K.  VAN  Bu- 
REN. 


Of  all  the  joys  we 
can  bring  into  our 
own  lives  there  is 
none  so  joyous  as  that 
which  comes  to  us  as 
the  result  of  caring 
for  others  and  bright- 
ening sad  lives.— E.  C. 
BURKE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Human  improve- 
ment is  from  within 
outward.— FROUDE. 


Cheerfulness  and 
content  are  great 
beautifiers,  and  are 
famous  preservers  of 
good  looks.  —  DICK- 
ENS. 


The  law  of  true  liv- 
ing is  toil. — J.  R.  MIL- 
LER. 


when  we  very  much  prefer  to  go  in  the 
fields;  then  it  requires  more  of  character, 
more  of  strength,  more  of  the  true  spirit 
of  sacrifice  to  wear  a  smiling  face  and  to 
maintain  a  cheerful  heart.  But  instead 
of  fleeing  from  the  petty  trials  that  cross 
our  paths  we  should  welcome  them  as  op- 
portunities for  testing  and  strengthen- 
ing our  good  purposes.  Newcomb  tells 
us:  "Disappointment  should  always  be 
taken  as  a  stimulant,  and  never  viewed 
as  a  discouragement."  To  the  sunshiny, 
philosophical  person,  trials  and  difficul- 
ties but  serve  to  help  him  to  develop  into 

THE  PRIZE  WINNER 

Oh,  the  man  who  wins  the  prize 

Is  the  one  who  bravely  tries, 
As  he  works  his  way  amid  the  toil  and  stress, 

Through  the  college  of  Hard  Knocks, 

So  to  hew  his  stumbling-blocks, 
They  will  serve  as  stepping-stones  toward 
success. 

Sunshine  has  ever  been  deemed  by  the 
close  students  of  life  as  a  most  essential 
element  in  the  achievement  of  the  high- 
est and  fullest  success.  The  optimist 
sees  open  paths  leading  to  pleasant  and 
prosperous  fields  of  endeavor  where  the 
96 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


pessimist  can  see  no  way  out  of  the  hope- 
less surroundings  amid  which  he  has 
been  thrust  by  an  unkind  fate.  The  dis- 
position to  seize  upon  the  opportunities 
lying  close  at  hand  and  to  believe  that 
the  here  and  now  is  full  of  sunshine  and 
golden  possibilities  has  carried  many  a 
one  to  success,  where  others,  lacking  the 
illumination  born  of  good  cheer  and  a 
hope  well  grounded  in  a  broad  and  beau- 
tiful faith,  have  sat  complainingly  by  the 
way  and  permitted  the  golden  chances 
to  go  by  unobserved. 

"Born  of  only  ordinary  capacity,  but 
of  extraordinary  persistency,"  said  Pro- 
fessor Maria  Mitchell,  the  distinguished 
astronomer,  in  the  later  years  of  her  life 
in  looking  back  upon  her  career.  But 
she  added,  with  a  simplicity  as  rare  as  it 
is  pleasing:  "I  did  not  quite  take  this  in, 
myself,  until  I  came  to  mingle  with  the 
best  girls  of  our  college,  and  to  become 
aware  how  rich  their  mines  are  and 
how  little  they  have  been  worked." 
At  sixteen  she  left  school,  and  at  eight- 
een accepted  the  position  of  librarian  of 
the  Nantucket  public  library.  Her  du- 
ties were  light  and  she  had  ample  oppor- 
tunity, surrounded  as  she  was  by  books, 

97 


We  may  make  the 
best  of  life,  or  we 
may  make  the  worst 
of  it,  and  it  depends 
very  much  upon  our- 
selves whether  we  ex- 
tract joy  or  misery 
from  it. — SMILES. 


Every  optimist 
moves  along  with  pro- 
gress and  hastens  it, 
while  every  pessimist 
would  keep  the  world 
at  a  standstill. — 
HELEN  KELLER. 


He  that  riseth  late, 
must  trot  all  day,  and 
shall  scarce  overtake 
his  business  at  night. 
— BENJAMIN  FBANK- 
LIN. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


It  is  great  folly  not 
to  part  with  your  own 
faults,  which  is  pos- 
sible, but  to  try  in- 
stead to  escape  from 
other  people's  faults, 
which  is  impossible. — 
MARCUS  AURELIUS. 


Labor  is  discovered 
to  be  the  grand  con- 
querer,  enriching  and 
building  up  nations 
more  surely  than  the 
proudest  battles.  — 
WILLIAM  ELLERY 
CHANMNG. 


It  is  easier  to  leave 
the  wrong  thing  un- 
said than  to  unsay  it. 
— GEORGE  HORACE  LOR- 


to  read  and  study,  while  leisure  was  also 
left  her  to  pursue  by  practical  observa- 
tion the  science  in  which  she  afterward 
became  known.  Those  who  dwell  upon 
the  smaller  islands,  among  which  must 
be  classed  Nantucket,  her  island  home, 
learn  almost  of  necessity  to  study  the  sea 
and  the  sky.  The  Mitchell  family  pos- 
sessed an  excellent  telescope.  From 
childhood  Maria  had  been  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  this  instrument,  search- 
ing out  with  its  aid,  the  distant  sails 
upon  the  horizon  by  day,  and  view- 
ing the  stars  by  night.  Her  father 
possessed  a  marked  taste  for  astron- 
omy, and  carried  on  an  independent 
series  of  observations.  He  taught  his 
daughter  all  he  knew,  and  what  was 
more  to  her  advancement,  she  applied 
herself  to  the  study  and  made  as  much 
independent  advancement  as  was  pos- 
sible for  her  to  do.  It  was  this  cheerful 
willingness  to  make  the  most  of  her  im- 
mediate surroundings  that  proved  to  be 
the  secret  of  her  world-wide  fame  in 
after  years  when  her  name  was  included 
with  those  of  the  other  prominent  as- 
tronomers of  the  world.  At  half  past 
ten  of  the  evening  of  October  First,  1847, 
96 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


she  made  the  discovery  which  first 
brought  her  name  before  the  public.  She 
was  gazing  through  her  glass  with  her 
usual  quiet  intentness  when  she  was  sud- 
denly startled  to  perceive  "an  unknown 
comet,  nearly  vertical  above  Polaris, 
about  five  degrees."  At  first  she  could 
not  believe  her  eyes;  then  hoping  and 
doubting,  scarcely  daring  to  think  that 
she  had  really  made  a  discovery,  she  ob- 
tained its  right  ascension  and  declina- 
tion. She  then  told  her  father,  who  gave 
the  news  to  the  other  astronomers  and  to 
the  world,  and  her  claim  to  the  discovery 
was  duly  accepted  and  ever  after  stood 
to  her  lasting  credit.  But  had  she  not 
been  interested  in  her  work  and  compe- 
tent to  seize  upon  and  to  make  the  most 
of  the  opportunity  that  presented  itself, 
she  would  not  have  been  able  to  make 
herself  the  first  of  all  the  beings  of  our 
earth  to  observe  and  record  this  strange 
visitant  to  our  starry  realms  above  us. 

It  is  the  faith  which  the  sunshiny  spirit 
has  in  the  "worth  whileness"  of  life  and 
its  possibilities  that  makes  him  or  her 
who  possesses  it  prepare  for  the  best  that 
is  to  come.  It  is  because  of  the  "prepar- 
edness" achieved  by  labor  that  men  and 

99 


Work  is  the  inevita- 
ble condition  of  hu- 
man life,  the  true 
source  of  human  wel- 
fare.—TOLSTOI. 


If  you  want  knowl- 
edge, you  must  toil  for 
it;  and  if  pleasure, 
you  must  toil  for  it. 
Toil  is  the  law.  Pleas- 
ure comes  through 
toil,  and  not  by  self- 
indulgence  and  indo- 
lence. When  one  gets 
to  love  work,  his  life 
is  a  happy  one. — Rus- 
KIN. 


One  of  the  grandest 
things  in  having  rights 
is  that,  being  your 
rights,  you  may  give 
them  up.  —  GEORGE 

MACDONALD. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Every  individual 
has  a  place  to  fill  in 
the  world,  and  is  im- 
portant in  some  re- 
spects, whether  he 
chooses  to  be  or  not. 
—HAWTHORNE. 


Expediency  is  man's 
wisdom.  Doing  right 
is  God's.  —  GEORGE 
MEREDITH. 


Diamonds  are  found 
only  in  the  dark  places 
of  the  earth;  truths 
are  found  only  in  the 
depths  of  thought. — 
VICTOR  HUGO. 


women  are  able  to  seize  upon  and  make 
the  most  of  the  "lucky  chance"  that  may 
bring  them  happiness  and  success. 

While  Thomas  A.  Edison  was  yet  a 
youth,  the  desire  to  make  himself  of 
worth  to  the  world  and  to  be  able  to  do 
something  that  would  make  him  a  living 
while  he  was  still  fitting  himself  for  bet- 
ter things,  he  spent  the  leisure  which 
most  boys  would  spend  in  idleness  or 
purposeless  pastime  in  learning  the  tele- 
grapher's code.  Later  on  this  knowl- 
edge gave  him  work  which  enabled  him 
to  gain  experience  as  a  telegraph  oper- 
ator, which  in  turn  led  to  his  invention  of 
the  quadruplex  telegraph.  But  the  inven- 
tion was  temporarily  a  failure,  although 
later  on  a  great  success.  Sorely  reduced 
in  circumstances,  he  was  one  day  tramp- 
ing the  streets  of  New  York  without  a 
cent. 

"I  happened  one  day,"  he  says,  "into 
the  office  of  a  'gold  ticker'  company 
which  had  about  five  hundred  subscrib- 
ers. I  was  standing  beside  the  apparatus 
when  it  gave  a  terrific  rip-roar  and  sud- 
denly stopped.  In  a  few  minutes  hun- 
dreds of  messenger  boys  blocked  up  the 
doorway  and  yelled  for  some  one  to  fix 
100 


THE    VALUE    OF    SUNSHINE 


the  tickers  in  the  office.  The  man  in 
charge  of  the  place  was. completely  up- 
set; so  I  stepped  up  to  him  and  said:  'I 
think  I  know  what 's  the  matter.'  I  re- 
moved a  loose  contact  spring  that  had 
fallen  between  the  wheels;  the  machine 
went  on.  The  result?  I  was  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  the  service  at  three  hun- 
dred dollars  a  month.  When  1  heard 
what  the  salary  was  I  almost  fainted." 
It  had  been  his  hopeful,  cheerful,  expect- 
ant attitude  toward  the  future  that  had 
ever  prompted  him  to  fit  himself  so  well 
that  when  the  opportunity  offered  itself 
he  was  able  to  show  that  he  possessed  the 
grasp  of  things  that  made  him 

THE  CONQUEROR 

There  's  a  day,  there  's  an  hour,  a  moment  of 

time 

When  Fate  shall  be  willing  to  try  us ; 
This  one  test  of  our  worth  and  our  purpose 

sublime, 

It  will  not,  it  cannot  deny  us. 
'T  is  our  right  to  demand  one  true  crisis,  else 

how 

Shall  we  prove  by  our  valor  undaunted 
That  we  merit  the  wreath  Fortune  lays  on  the 

brow 

Of  the  man  who  is  there  when  he  's  wanted? 

101 


I  simply  declare  my 
determination  not  to 
feed  on  the  broth  of 
literature  when  I  can 
get  strong  sou  p. — 
GEORGE  ELIOT. 


A  thousand  words 
leave  not  the  same 
deep  print  as  does  a 
single  deed. — IBSEN. 


Woman — the  crown 
of    creation. — HERDER. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Harmony  is  the  es- 
sence of  power  as 
well  as  beauty.  —  A. 
E.  WINSHIP. 


Be  faithful  to  thy- 
self, and  fear  no  other 
witness  but  thy  fear. 
—SHELLEY. 


To  give  heartfelt 
praise  to  noble  actions 
is,  in  some  measure, 
making  them  our  own. 
—LA  ROCHEFOUCAULD. 


And  whene'er  Opportunity  knocks  at  his  door 

The  wise  one's  glad  greeting  is,  "Ready !" 
He  has  garnered,  of  knowledge,  an  adequate 
store, 

His  purpose  is  seasoned  and  steady. 
With  soul  and  with  spirit,  with  hand  and  with 
heart, 

And  with  strength  that  he  never  has  vaunted, 
He  is  fashioned  and  fitted  to  compass  his  part, 

Is  the  man  who  is  there  when  he  's  wanted. 

The  world  is  a  stage  and  our  lives  are  a  play 

And  the  role  that  is  given  us  in  it 
May  be  grand  or  obscure,  yet  there  comes  the 

great  day 

When  we  speak  its  best  lines  for  a  minute. 
And  the  dream  that  through  all  of  life's  trials 

and  tears, 

The  soul,  like  soft  music,  has  haunted, 
Comes  true,  and  the  world  gives  its  smiles  and 

its  cheers 
To  the  man  who  is  there  when  he  's  wanted. 


102 


KLI55ABKTH      BARRETT      BROWNING 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  MERRY  HEART 


117HO  among  us  can  presume  to  esti- 
mate the  value  of  a  merry  heart  ? 
What  a  perpetual  blessing  it  is  to  its  pos- 
sessor and  to  all  who  must  come  into 
close  relationship  with  the  owner  of  it! 

There  is  nothing  more  pleasantly 
"catching"  than  happiness.  The  happy 
person  serves  to  make  all  about  him  or 
her  the  more  happy.  What  the  bright, 
inspiring  sunshine  adds  to  the  beauty  of 
the  fields,  a  happy  disposition  adds  to  the 
charm  of  all  the  incidents  and  experi- 
ences of  one's  daily  life. 

Do  not  you,  whose  eyes  are  perusing 
these  lines,  love  to  associate  with  a  friend 
possessing  a  cheerful  disposition?  And 
do  you  not  intuitively  refrain  from  meet- 
ing with  the  unfortunate  one  whose 
looks  and  words  are  heavy  with  com- 
plainings or  whose  eyes  fail  to  see  the 
beauty  of  the  world  lying  all  about  ?  And 

105 


Mirth  is  God's  med- 
icine ;  everybody 
ought  to  bathe  in  it. — 
HOLMES. 


The  blue  of  heaven 
is  larger  than  the 
cloud.  —  ELIZABETH 
BARRETT  BROWNING. 


A  gay,  serene  spirit 
is  the  source  of  all 
that  is  noble  and  good. 
— SCHILLER. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Your  manners  will 
depend  very  much  on 
what  you  frequently 
think  on;  for  the  soul 
is  as  it  were  tinged 
with  the  color  and 
complexion  of 
thought.  —  MARCUS 
AURELIUS  ANTONI- 
NUS. 


Dost  thou  love  life? 
Then  do  not  squander 
time,  for  that  is  the 
stuff  life  is  made  of.— 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 


Be  yourself,  but 
m  a  ke  yourself  in 
everything  as  delight- 
ful as  you  can. — MAR- 
GARET E.  SANGSTER. 


if  we  are  given  to  wise  thinking  we  must 
reach  the  conclusion  that  as  we  regard 
these  attributes  in  others,  so  others  must 
regard  them  in  us. 

Nothing  is  more  eloquent  than  a  beau- 
tiful face.  It  is  the  open  sesame  to  all 
our  hearts.  A  sunshiny  face  melts  away 
all  opposition  and  finds  the  word  "Wel- 
come" written  over  the  doorways  where 
the  face  wearing  a  hard,  unfriendly  look 
sees  only  the  warning,  "No  Admit- 
tance." 

But  a  smile  that  is  only  skin  deep  is 
not  a  true  smile,  but  only  a  superficial 
grin.  A  true  smile  comes  all  the  way 
from  the  heart.  It  bears  its  message  of 
good  will  and  friendliness.  It  is  a  mute 
salutation  of  "good  luck  and  happy  days 
to  you!"  and  it  makes  whoever  receives 
it  better  and  stronger  for  the  hour. 

The  genuine  smile  is  closely  related 
to,  and  is  a  part  of,  that  laughter  which 
beams  and  sparkles  in  the  eye  and  makes 
the  little,  cheerful,  smiling  lines  in  the 
face  that  are  so  quickly  and  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  lines  that  are  the 
outward  sign  of  an  unhappy  spirit 
within. 

Many  centuries  ago  that  wise  and  ad- 

106 


A    MERRY    HEART 


mirable  philosopher,  Epictetus,  discov- 
ered that  "happiness  is  not  in  strength, 
or  wealth,  or  power;  or  all  three.  It 
lies  in  ourselves,  in  true  freedom,  in  the 
conquest  of  every  ignoble  fear,  in  perfect 
self-government,  in  a  power  of  content- 
ment and  peace,  and  the  even  flow  of 
life,  even  in  poverty,  exile,  disease  and 
the  very  valley  of  the  shadow." 

One  of  the  happiest  observers  of  life 
and  its  higher  purposes — Anne  Gilchrist 
— says :  "I  used  to  think  it  was  great  to 
disregard  happiness,  to  press  to  a  high 
goal,  careless,  disdainful  of  it.  But  now 
I  see  there  is  nothing  so  great  as  to  be 
capable  of  happiness, — to  pluck  it  out  of 
each  moment,  and,  whatever  happens, 
to  find  that  one  can  ride  as  gay  and 
buoyant  on  the  angry,  menacing,  tu- 
multuous waves  of  life  as  on  those  that 
glide  and  glitter  under  a  clear  sky;  that 
it  is  not  defeat  and  wretchedness  which 
comes  out  of  the  storms  of  adversity, 
but  strength  and  calmness." 

The  strongest  incentive  for  the  culti- 
vation of  a  merry  heart  is  that  it  is  a 
duty  as  well  as  a  delight.  Sydney  Smith 
has  very  wisely  observed  that  "mankind 
is  always  happier  for  having  been 

107 


The  tissue  of  the 
life  to  be  we  weave 
with  colors  all  our 
own,  and  in  the  field 
of  destiny  we  reap  as 
we  have  sow  n. — 
WHITTIER. 


What  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  done  you 
can  always  find  out 
beyond  question  how 
to  do. — RUSKIN. 


T  he      doctrine     of 

love,  purity,  and  right 
living  has,  step  by 
step,  won  its  way  into 
the  hearts  of  man- 
kind, and  has  filled 
the  future  with  hope 
and  promise.  —  WIL- 
LIAM McKlNLEY. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Since  time  is  not  a 
person  we  can  over- 
take when  he  is  past, 
let  us  honor  him  with 
mirth  and  cheerful- 
ness of  heart  while  he 
is  passing. — GOETHE. 


Every  wish  is  a 
prayer  with  God. — 
ELIZABETH  BARRETT 
BROWNING. 


Say  not  always 
what  you  know,  but 
always  know  what  you 
say.— CLAUDIUS. 


happy;  so  that  if  you  make  them  happy 
now,  you  may  make  them  happy  twenty 
years  hence  by  the  memory  of  it." 

True  happiness  has  about  it  no  sug- 
gestion of  selfishness.  The  genuinely 
happy  person  is  the  one  who  would  have 
all  the  world  to  be  happy.  "Is  there  any 
happiness  in  the  world  like  the  happiness 
of  a  disposition  made  happy  by  the 
happiness  of  others?"  asks  Faber. 
"There  is  no  joy  to  be  compared  with  it. 
The  luxuries  which  wealth  can  buy,  the 
rewards  which  ambition  can  obtain,  the 
pleasures  of  art  and  scenery,  the  abound- 
ing sense  of  health  and  the  exquisite  en- 
joyment of  mental  creations  are  nothing 
to  this  pure  and  heavenly  happiness, 
where  self  is  drowned  in  the  blessings  of 
others." 

One  of  the  most  heavenly  attributes 
of  happiness  is  that  it  begets  more  hap- 
piness not  only  in  ourselves  but  in  others 
about  us.  It  has  in  it  an  uplift  and  a 
strength  that  enables  us  to  build  the 
stronger  to-day  against  the  distress  that 
would  beset  us  to-morrow. 

"Health  and  happiness"  are  terms 
that  are  so  often  closely  linked  in  our 
speech  and  in  our  literature.  One  is  al- 
108 


A    MERRY    HEART 


most  a  synonym  for  the  other.  Perhaps 
the  true  significance  existing  between 
the  two  would  be  more  correctly  stated 
were  we  to  reverse  the  form  in  which 
they  are  usually  set  forth  and  say  "hap- 
piness and  health"  instead.  All  observ- 
ers of  human  nature  and  its  many  com- 
plex attributes  are  convinced  that  hap- 
piness is  the  fountain  spring  of  health. 
One  of  our  keenest  students  of  life 
tells  us  that  "small  annoyances  are  the 
seeds  of  disease.  We  cannot  afford  to 
entertain  them.  They  are  the  bacteria, 
— the  germs  that  make  serious  disturb- 
ance in  the  system,  and  prepare  the  way 
for  all  derangements.  They  furnish  the 
mental  conditions  which  are  manifested 
later  in  the  blood,  the  tissues,  and  the 
organs,  under  various  pathological 
names.  Good  thoughts  are  the  only 
germicide.  We  must  kill  our  resent- 
ment and  regret,  impatience  and  anxiety. 
Health  will  inevitably  follow.  Every 
thought  that  holds  us  in  even  the  slight- 
est degree  to  either  anticipation  or  re- 
gret hinders,  to  some  extent,  the  reali- 
zation of  our  present  good.  It  limits 
freedom.  Life  is  in  the  present  tense. 
Its  significant  name  is  Being." 

109 


Evil  is  wrought  by 
want  of  thought,  as 
well  as  want  of  heart. 
—HOOD. 


Our  greatest  glory 
consists  not  in  never 
falling,  but  in  rising 
every  time  we  fall. — 
GOLDSMITH. 


So  use  present 
pleasures  that  thou 
spoilest  not  future 
ones. — SENECA. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


A  good  manner 
springs  from  a  good 
heart,  and  fine  man- 
ners are  the  outcome 
of  unselfish  kindness. 
— MARGARET  E.  SANG- 

STER. 


Reading  and  study 
are  in  no  sense  educa- 
tion, unless  they  may 
contribute  to  this  end 
of  making  us  feel 
kindly  towards  all 
creatures. — RUSKIN. 


An  hour  in  every 
day  withdrawn  from 
frivolous  pursuits 
would,  if  properly  em- 
ployed, enable  a  per- 
son of  ordinary 
capacity,  to  go  far  to- 
ward mastering  a  sci- 
ence.  —  SAMUEL 
SMILES. 


Whether  we  are  happy  or  not  depends 
much  on  our  point  of  view.  The  dispo- 
sition to  look  at  everything  through  kind 
and  beautiful  eyes  makes  all  the  world 
more  kind  and  beautiful.  If  we  are 
gloomy  within  the  whole  world  appears 
likewise.  Perhaps  the  two  ways  of  look- 
ing at  things  could  not  be  better  set  forth 
than  in  these  clever  lines  by  E.  J.  Hardy: 

"How  dismal  you  look!"  said  a  bucket 
to  his  companion,  as  they  were  going  to 
the  well. 

"Ah  !"  replied  the  other,  "I  was  reflect- 
ing on  the  uselessness  of  our  being  filled, 
for,  let  us  go  away  never  so  full,  we  al- 
ways come  back  empty." 

"Dear  me!  how  strange  to  look  on  it 
that  way!"  said  the  other  bucket;  "now 
I  enjoy  the  thought  that  however  empty 
we  come,  we  always  go  away  full.  Only 
look  at  it  in  that  light  and  you  will  al- 
ways be  as  cheerful  as  I  am." 

The  difference  between  the  pessimist 
and  the  optimist  is  in  their 

POINT  OF  VIEW 
Because  each  rose  must  have  its  thorn, 

The  pessimist  Fate's  plan  opposes ; 
The  optimist,  more  gladly  born, 
Rejoices  that  the  thorns  have  roses. 
110 


A     MERRY     HEART 


Since  our  happiness  is  merely  the  re- 
flex influence  of  the  happiness  we  make 
for  others  it  would  seem  as  though  the 
joy  of  our  lives  dwells  within  our  own 
keeping.  "The  universe,"  says  Zimmer- 
man, "pays  every  man  in  his  own  coin; 
if  you  smile,  it  smiles  upon  you  in  re- 
turn ;  if  you  frown,  you  will  be  frowned 
at;  if  you  sing,  you  will  be  invited  into 
gay  company;  if  you  think,  you  will  be 
entertained  by  thinkers ;  if  you  love  the 
world,  and  earnestly  seek  for  the  good 
therein,  you  will  be  surrounded  by  lov- 
ing friends,  and  nature  will  pour  into 
your  lap  the  treasures  of  the  earth." 

All  of  this  being  true  we  must  early 
learn  to  seize  upon  opportunities  for 
making'  others  happy  if  we,  ourselves, 
would  get  the  most  and  highest  enjoy- 
ment from  life.  "There  are  gates  that 
swing  within  your  life  and  mine,"  writes 
"Amber,"  that  good  woman  of  sainted 
memory,  "letting  in  rare  opportunities 
from  day  to  day,  that  tarry  but  a  mo- 
ment and  are  gone,  like  travelers  bound 
for  points  remote.  There  is  the  oppor- 
tunity to  resist  the  temptation  to  do  a 
mean  thing!  Improve  it,  for  it  is  in  a 
hurry,  like  the  man  whose  ticket  is 

ill 


To  live  with  a  high 
ideal  is  a  successful 
life.  It  is  not  what 
one  does,  but  what 
one  tries  to  do,  that 
makes  the  soul  strong 
and  fit  for  noble  ca- 
reer.—E.  P.  TENNEY. 


He  who  loses  money 
loses  much;  he  who 
loses  a  friend  loses 
more,  but  he  who 
loses  spirit  loses  all. — 
S.  A.  NELSON. 


If  you  tell  the  truth, 
you  have  infinite 
power  supporting  you ; 
but  if  not,  you  have 
infinite  power  against 
you.  —  CHARLES  G. 
GORDON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Great  hearts  alone 
understand  how  much 
glory  there  is  in  being 
good.  To  be  and  keep 
so  is  not  the  gift  of  a 
happy  nature  alone, 
but  it  is  strength  and 
heroism.  —  JULES 
MICHELET. 


We  live  in  deeds, 
not  years;  in 
thoughts,  not  breaths. 
—BAILEY. 


Remember  that 
everybody's  business 
in  the  social  system  is 
to  be  agreeabl e. — 
DICKENS. 


bought  and  whose  time  is  up.  It  won't 
be  back  this  way,  either,  for  opportuni- 
ties for  good  are  not  like  tourists  who 
travel  on  return  tickets.  There  is  the 
opportunity  to  say  a  pleasant  word  to 
the  ones  within  the  sound  of  your  voice. 
All  of  the  priceless  opportunities  travel 
by  lightning  express  and  have  no  time 
to  idle  around  the  waiting-room.  If  we 
improve  them  at  all  it  must  be  when 
the  gate  swings  to  let  them  through." 

It  is  in  living  not  for  ourselves  alone 
but  for  others  that  we  are  to  find  the 
larger  and  truer  happiness  of  life.  Says 
Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones,  "I  would  rather  live 
in  an  alley,  stayed  all  round  with  human 
loves,  associations  and  ambitions,  than 
dwell  in  a  palace  with  drawbridge,  moat, 
and  portcullis,  apart  from  the  commu- 
nity about  me,  alienated  from  my  neigh- 
bors, unable  to  share  the  woes  and  the 
joys  of  those  with  whom  I  divide  na- 
ture's bounty  of  land  and  landscape,  of 
air  and  sky."  And  along  this  same  line 
of  thinking,  Charles  Hargrove  says: 
"Brother,  sister,  your  mistake  is  to  live 
alone  in  a  crowded  world,  to  think  of 
yourself  and  your  own  belongings,  and 
what  is  the  matter  with  you,  instead  of 
112 


A     MERRY     HEART 


trying  to  realize,  what  is  the  fact — that 
you  are  a  member  of  a  great  human 
society,  and  that  your  true  interests  are 
one  with  those  of  the  world  which  will 
go  on  much  the  same  however  it  fare 
with  you.  Live  the  larger  life,  and  you 
will  find  it  the  happier." 

So  one  of  the  chief  aims  of  your  life 
and  of  mine  should  be  to  find  happiness 
and  to  see  to  it  that  others  find  it  as  well. 
And  let  us  not  wait  to  find  happiness 
in  one  great  offering,  but  let  us  discover 
it  whenever  and  wherever  we  can.  Let 
us  carefully  study  our  surroundings  to 
see  if  it  is  not  hiding  all  about  us.  "Very 
few  things,"  says  Lecky,  "contribute  so 
much  to  the  happiness  of  life  as  a  con- 
stant realization  of  the  blessings  we  en- 
joy. The  difference  between  a  naturally 
contented  nature  and  a  naturally  discon- 
tented one  is  one  of  the  marked  differ- 
ences of  innate  temperament,  but  we  can 
do  much  to  cultivate  that  habit  of  dwell- 
ing on  the  benefits  of  our  lot  which  con- 
verts acquiescence  into  a  more  positive 
enjoyment." 

Nothing  can  do  more  to  add  to  our 
happiness  of  mind  than  to  cultivate  the 
gracious  habit  of  being  grateful  for  joys 

113 


In  the  lexicon  of 
youth  there  is  no  such 
word  as  fail.  —  BUL- 
WER  LYTTON. 


Be  noble!  and  the 
nobleness  that  lies  in 
other  men,  sleeping, 
but  never  dead,  will 
rise  in  majesty  to 
meet  thine  own.  — 
LOWELL. 


The  cheerful  live 
longest  in  years,  and 
afterward  in  our  re- 
gards.— BOVEE. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


How  sweet  and  gra- 
cious, even  in  common 
speech,  is  that  fine 
sense  which  men  call 
Courtesy !  —JAMES 
T.  FIELDS. 


Make  each  goal 
when  reached,  a  start- 
ing point  for  further 
quest.— BROWNING. 


The  world  is  so  full 
of  a  number  of  things, 
I  'm  sure  we  should 
all  be  as  happy  as 
kings.— ROBERT  Louis 
STEVENSON. 


that  come  to  us  and  to  seek  to  appreciate 
the  worth  of  the  beneficent  gifts  that  are 
ever  being  showered  upon  us.  We  are 
so  apt  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  accepting 
blessings  as  a  matter  of  course  and  of 
failing  to  discover  their  wonderful  value. 
How  many  of  us,  for  example,  have  ever 
thoughtfully  dwelt  upon  the  priceless 
attributes  of  the  air  that  is  ever  and  al- 
ways floating  about  us.  In  order  that 
we  may  have  a  truer  appreciation  of  its 
fine  qualities  and  purposes  let  us  read 
these  words  by  Lord  Avebury: 

"Fresh  air,  how  wonderful  it  is!  It 
permeates  all  our  body,  it  bathes  the  skin 
in  a  medium  so  delicate  that  we  are  not 
conscious  of  its  presence,  and  yet  so 
strong  that  it  wafts  the  odors  of  flowers 
and  fruit  into  our  rooms,  carries  our 
ships  over  the  seas,  the  purity  of  sea  and 
mountain  into  the  heart  of  our  cities. 
It  is  the  vehicle  of  sound,  it  brings  to  us 
the  voices  of  those  we  love  and  the  sweet 
music  of  nature;  it  is  the  great  reservoir 
of  the  rain  which  waters  the  earth,  it 
softens  the  heat  of  day  and  the  cold 
of  night,  covers  us  overhead  with  a  glor- 
ious arch  of  blue,  and  lights  up  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  skies  with  fire.  It  is  so 
114 


A     MERRY     HEART 


exquisitely  soft  and  pure,  so  gentle  and 
yet  so  useful,  that  no  wonder  Ariel  is 
the  most  delicate,  lovable  and  fascinat- 
ing of  all  Nature  Spirits." 

It  is  only  when  we  open  our  eyes  to  the 
beauty  of  the  wonders  about  us  that  we 
see  how  much  there  is  to  contribute  to 
our  happiness  if  we  will  but  open  our 
hearts  and  let  it  come  in.  What  a  per- 
petual exaltation  nature  will  afford  us 
when  we  have  cultivated  the  fine  habit 
of  looking  upon  it  with  the  welcoming 
eyes  through  which  Richard  Jefferies 
beholds  it :  "The  whole  time  in  the  open 
air,"  he  tells  us,  "resting  at  midday 
under  the  elms  with  the  ripple  of  heat 
flowing  through  the  shadow;  at  mid- 
night between  the  ripe  corn  and  the  haw- 
thorne  hedge  or  the  white  camomile  and 
the  poppy  pale  in  the  duskiness,  with 
face  upturned  to  the  thoughtful  heaven. 
Consider  the  glory  of  it,  the  life  above 
this  life  to  be  obtained  from  constant 
presence  with  the  sunlight  and  the 
stars." 

So  let  us  cultivate  the  fine  habit  of 
finding  joy  and  of  shouting  it  to  our 
friends  and  neighbors.  Life  seems  bright 
to  us  when  we  are  really  glad  of  any- 

115 


God  bless  the  good- 
natured,  for  they  bless 
everybody  else. — 
BEECHER. 


If  you  are  ac- 
quainted with  Happi- 
ness, introduce  him  to 
your  n  e  i  g  h  b  o  r. — 
PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 


Nor  love  thy  life, 
nor  hate;  but  what 
thou  liv'st,  live  well; 
how  long  or  short, 
permit  to  heaven. — 
MILTON. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


The  most  wasted  of 
all  days  is  that  on 
which  one  has  not 
laughed. — CHAMFORT. 


It  is  impossible  to  be 
just  if  one  is  not  gen- 
erous.—JOSEPH  Roux. 


People  glorify  all 
sorts  of  bravery,  ex- 
cept the  bravery  they 
might  show  on  behalf 
of  their  nearest  neigh- 
bors.—GEORGE  ELIOT. 


thing  and  we  let  gladness  have  voice  to 
express  itself.  George  MacDonald  says 
"a  poet  is  a  man  who  is  glad  of  some- 
thing and  tries  to  make  other  people  glad 
of  it,  too."  In  the  possession  of  this 
kindly  spirit,  at  least,  we  must  all  strive 
to  be  poets. 

Emerson  tells  us  that  "there  is  one 
topic  positively  forbidden  to  all  well- 
bred,  to  all  rational  mortals,  namely, 
their  distempers.  If  you  have  not  slept, 
or  if  you  have  headache,  or  sciatica,  or 
leprosy,  or  thunder  stroke,  I  beseech  you, 
by  all  the  angels,  to  hold  your  peace, 
and  not  pollute  the  morning,  to  which 
all  the  housemates  bring  serene  and 
pleasant  thoughts,  by  corruption  and 
groans." 

The  fine  tonic  effect  of  a  bright,  happy 
face  smiling  across  the  breakfast  table 
is  known  to  all  the  world.  Better  a  feast 
of  corn  bread  and  a  cheerful  counte- 
nance than  fruit  cake  and  a  sour  temper- 
ament. 

So  I  feel  very  sure  that  you,  my  dear 
young  lady,  for  whom  these  lines  are 
written,  are  never  going  to  appear  at  the 
breakfast  table  with  aught  other  than 
a  bright  cheery  face  and  a  pleasant  word 
116 


A     MERRY     HEART 


for  all  about  you.  Some  one  has  said 
that  the  first  hour  of  the  day  is  the  crit- 
ical one.  Happy  is  the  person  who  can 
wake  with  a  song,  or  who  can  at  least 
hold  back  the  fears  and  the  grumbles 
until  a  thought  of  gladness  has  estab- 
lished itself  as  the  keynote  of  the  day. 

"Assume  a  virtue,  if  you  have  it  not/' 
says  Shakespeare.  While  as  a  rule  it 
is  deemed  wrong  to  assume  to  possess 
any  virtue  that  we  do  not  possess,  we 
may  and  no  doubt  should,  at  times,  ap- 
pear to  be  happy  even  though  we  may 
feel  more  like  indulging  in  lamentations. 
To  come  to  the  breakfast  table  enumer- 
ating a  list  of  real  or  imaginary  ailments 
is  a  most  ill-advised  thing  to  do.  We 
should  endeavor  to  forget  our  troubles 
and  above  all  we  should  be  slow  to  give 
voice  to  them  so  that  thereby  they  will 
be  multiplied  in  the  minds  of  others.  It 
has  been  truly  said  that  most  people 
who  are  unhappy  are  really  miserable 
and  bring  their  misery  to  others  because 
they  allow  the  failures  and  discomforts 
to  speak  the  first  word  in  their  souls. 
For  misery  is  voluble  and  the  little  dis- 
comforts will  turn  us  into  their  contin- 
ual mouthpieces  if  we  will  give  them  a 

117 


How  active  springs 
the  mind  that  leaves 
the  load  of  yesterday 
behind.— POPE. 


One  of  the  most 
charming  things  in 
girlhood  is  serenity. — 
MARGARET  E.  SANG- 
STER. 


Every  generous  na- 
ture desires  to  make 
the  earning  of  an  hon- 
est living  but  a  means 
to  the  higher  end  of 
adding  to  the  sum 
total  of  human  good- 
ness and  human  hap- 
piness. —  FRANCES  E. 
WILLARD. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Attempt  the  end, 
and  never  stand  in 
doubt ;  nothing 's  so 
hard  but  search  will 
find  it  out. — RICHARD 
LOVELACE. 


There  is  only  one 
way  to  get  ready  for 
immortality,  and  that 
is  to  love  this  life 
and  live  it  as  bravely 
and  cheerfully  and 
faithfully  as  we  can. — 
HENRY  VAN  DYKE. 


He  that  composes 
himself  is  wiser  than 
he  that  composes 
books.  —  BENJAMIN 
FRANKLIN. 


chance.  But  the  truly  thoughtful  and 
considerate  person  will  have  none  of 
them.  Instead  of  displaying  the  flag  of 
distress  and  surrender,  the  wiser  method 
is  to  pull  our  courage  and  determination 
together  and  don 

THE  BETTER  ARMOR 

If  through  thick  and  through  thin 

You  are  eager  to  win, 
Don't  go  shrouded  in  Fear  and  in  Doubt, 

But  with  Hope  and  with  Truth 

And  the  blue  sky  of  Youth 
Go  through  life  with  the  sunny  side  out. 

So  let  us  determine  that  we  will  cul- 
tivate the  happy  habit;  for  indeed  even 
happiness  is  largely  a  habit.  "As  he 
thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  If  he 
thinks  trouble,  he  is  very  likely  to  find 
it.  If  he  thinks  sickness,  he  is  likely  to 
be  ill.  If  he  thinks  unkind  things,  he  is 
quite  sure  to  put  them  into  the  deeds 
of  his  daily  life.  The  thought  is  the  ar-_ 
chitect's  plans  which  the  hands  are  likely 
to  set  about  to  build.  To  the  one  who 
thinks  the  weather  is  bad,  it  is  sure  to  be 
disagreeable.  To  the  one  who  seeks  to 
find  something  pleasant  about  it,  it  is 
certain  to  offer  some  happy  phases. 
118 


A    MERRY    HEART 


We  must  all  answer  "yes"  to  this 
question  asked  by  one  of  our  fine  writers 
on  our  social  amenities :  "Don't  you  get 
awfully  tired  of  people  who  are  always 
croaking?  A  frog  in  a  big,  damp,  ma- 
larial pond  is  expected  to  make  all  the 
fuss  he  can  in  protest  of  his  surround- 
ings. But  a  man !  Destined  for  a  crown, 
and  born  that  he  may  be  educated  for 
the  court  of  a  king!  Placed  in  an  em- 
erald world  with  a  hither  side  of  opaline 
shadow,  and  a  fine  dust  of  diamonds  to 
set  it  sparkling  when  winter  days  are 
flying;  with  ten  million  singing  birds  to 
make  it  musical,  and  twice  ten  million 
flowers  to  make  it  sweet ;  with  countless 
stars  to  light  it  up  with  fiery  splendor, 
and  white,  new  moons  to  wrap  it  round 
with  mystery;  with  other  souls  within  it 
to  love  and  make  happy,  and  the  hand 
of  God  to  uphold  it  on  its  rushing  way 
among  the  countless  worlds  that  crowd 
its  path;  what  right  has  man  to  find 
fault  with  such  a  world?  When  the 
woodtick  shall  gain  a  hearing,  as  he  com- 
plains that  the  grand  old  century  oak 
is  unfit  to  shelter  him,  or  the  bluebird 
be  harkened  to  when  he  murmurs  that 
the  horizon  is  off  color,  and  does  not 

119 


Anxiety  never  yet 
successfully  bridged 
over  any  chasm. — 
RUFFINI. 


How  poor  are  they 
that  have  not  pa- 
tience !  What  wound 
did  ever  heal  but  by 
degrees  ?  —  SHAKE- 
SPEARE. 


Duty  determines 
destiny.  Destiny  which 
results  from  duty  per- 
formed, may  bring 
anxiety  and  perils,  but 
never  failure  and  dis- 
honor.  —  WILLIAM 

McKlNLEY. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


If  I  can  stop  one 
heart  from  breaking, 
I  shall  not  live  in  vain. 
—EMILY  DICKINSON. 


No  book  is  worth 
anything  which  is  not 
worth  much ;  nor  is  it 
serviceable,  until  it 
has  been  read,  and  re- 
read, and  loved,  and 
loved  again.  —  Rus- 

K1N. 


Wise,  cultivated, 
genial  conversation  is 
the  best  flower  of 
civilization.  —  EMER- 
SON. 


match  his  wings,  then,  I  think,  it  will  be 
time  for  man  to  find  fault  with  the  ap- 
pointments of  the  magnificent  sphere  in 
which  he  lives." 

Therefore  let  it  be  determined  between 
us,  right  here  and  now,  that  come  what 
may,  we  shall  each  of  us  endeavor  to 
keep  a  merry  heart  and  a  pleasant  face. 
As  we  love  to  see  a  happy  expression  on 
the  faces  of  our  parents,  brothers,  sis- 
ters and  friends,  so  must  they  enjoy  see- 
ing a  pleasant  look  overspreading  our 
features.  And  with  this  good  and  kindly 
resolve  in  our  minds  it  will  never  be 
difficult  for  us  to  decide  whether  we  shall 
give  to  the  good  world  about  us  the 
gladness  or  the  gloom  that  is  embodied 
in 

SONG  OR  SIGH 

If  you  were  a  bird  and  shut  in  a  cage, 

Now  what  would  you  better  do, — 
Would  you  grieve  your  throat  with  a  sorry  note 

And  mourn  the  whole  day  through; 
Or  would  you  swing  and  chirp  and  sing, 

Though  the  world  were  warped  with  wrong, 
Till  you  filled  one  place  with  the  perfect  grace 

And  gladness  of  your  song? 

If  you  were  a  man  and  shut  in  a  world, 
Now  what  would  you  better  do, — 
120 


A    MERRY    HEART 


On  a  gloomy  day,  when  skies  were  gray, 

Would  you  be  gloomy,  too? 
When  crossed  with  care  would  you  let  despair 

Life's  happy  hope  destroy, 
Or  with  a  smile  work  on  the  while 

You  found  the  path  to  joy? 


It  is  so  easy  to  per- 
ceive other  people's 
little  absurdities,  and 
so  difficult  to  discover 
our  own.  —  ELLEN 
THORNYCROFT  FOWLER. 


121 


FLORENCE     NIGHTINGALE 


CHAPTER  VII 


GOLDEN  HABITS 


"lllTE  often  hear  persons  speaking  of 

"  "the  force  of  habit"  as  though  it 
were  something  to  be  regretted.  "Habit 
is  second  nature,"  is  a  saying  that  is  in- 
cluded among  the  classic  epigrams  of 
men.  That  habits  do  become  very 
strong,  all  the  world  has  learned,  some- 
times to  its  sorrow  and  sometimes  to  its 
advantage  and  delight. 

For  be  it  known  that  good  habits  are 
just  as  strong  as  bad  habits  and  in  that 
we  should  all  feel  a  common  joy  and  a 
sense  of  deliverance  from  wrong  doing. 

The  fact  that  a  fixed  habit  is  only  a 
matter  of  long  and  gradual  growth 
ought  to  be  very  much  to  our  advantage. 
This  very  fundamental  principle  of  their 
construction  should  result  in  giving  us 
very  many  more  good  habits  than  bad 
habits.  This  happy  conclusion  is  based 
on  the  supposition  that  while  many  of 

125 


I  think  that  there  is 
success  in  all  honest 
endeavor,  and  that 
there  is  some  victory 
gained  in  every  gal- 
lant struggle  that  is 
made. — DICKENS. 


Every  noble  work  is 
at  first  impossible. — 
CARLYLE. 


Truth  is  a  strong 
thing,  let  man's  life  be 
true. — BROWNING. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Efforts  to  be  per- 
manently useful  must 
be  uniformly  joyous — 
a  spirit  all  sunshine, 
graceful  from  very 
gladness,  beautiful  be- 
cause bright.  —  CAR- 

LYLE. 


Pass  no  day  idly; 
youth  does  not  return. 
— CHINESE  PROVERB. 


If,  instead  of  a  gem, 
or  even  a  flower,  we 
could  cast  the  gift  of 
a  lovely  thought  into 
the  heart  of  a  friend, 
that  would  be  giving 
as  the  angels  must 
give.  —  GEORGE  MAC- 
DONALD. 


us  are  so  constituted  that  it  is  possible 
we  might,  in  some  unguarded  moment, 
do  a  wrong  act,  it  is  unlikely  we  could  re- 
peat the  error  so  often  and  so  long  as 
to  make  the  questionable  action  become 
a  fixed  habit. 

The  doing  of  a  wrong  thing  should 
result  in  convincing  us,  on  sober  second 
thought,  that  it  was  a  mistake  on  our 
part  to  have  permitted  ourselves  to  have 
been  led  into  uncertain,  unhappy  paths 
and  we  would  then  and  there  reinforce 
our  moral  strength  and  our  determina- 
tion that  the  wrong  should  not  occur 
again. 

In  doing  right  things,  the  conditions 
are  quite  reversed.  Every  good  deed 
inspires  us  to  still  greater  determination 
to  do  more  of  the  same  kind.  Wrong 
deeds  are,  in  most  cases,  committed  in 
a  moment  of  thoughtlessness  when  one's 
conscience,  one's  higher  and  better  self, 
is  momentarily  off  guard.  Our  good  acts 
are  performed  with  a  full  and  proud 
realization  of  what  we  are  doing  and  are 
followed  by  a  grateful  sense  of  retro- 
spective pleasure,  after  they  have  been 
done. 

"Could  the  young,"  says  Henry 
126 


GOLDEN     HABITS 


James,  "but  realize  how  soon  they  will 
become  mere  walking  bundles  of  habits, 
they  would  give  more  heed  to  their  con- 
duct while  in  the  plastic  state.  Nothing 
we  ever  do  is,  in  strict  scientific  literate- 
ness,  wiped  out."  One  of  our  latter  day 
philosophers  tells  us  that  "happiness  is 
a  matter  of  habit;  and  you  had  better 
gather  it  fresh  every  day  or  you  will 
never  get  it  at  all." 

In  speaking  of  the  success  he  had 
achieved  in  life,  Charles  Dickens  said: 
"I  have  been  very  fortunate  in  worldly 
matters;  many  men  have  worked  much 
harder  and  not  succeeded  half  so  well; 
but  I  never  could  have  done  what  I  have 
done,  without  the  habits  of  punctuality, 
order,  and  diligence,  without  the  deter- 
mination to  concentrate  myself  on  one 
object  at  a  time,  no  matter  how  quickly 
its  successor  should  come  upon  its  heels." 

When  we  come  to  study  carefully  the 
full  meaning  of  the  word  "habit"  we 
find  it  to  be  a  very  comprehensive  term. 
In  the  sense  in  which  it  is  here  employed 
the  dictionary  defines  it  as  being  "a  ten- 
dency or  inclination  toward  an  action  or 
condition,  which  by  repetition  has  be- 
come easy,  spontaneous  or  even  uncon- 

127 


Nothing  can  consti- 
tute good  breeding 
that  has  not  good 
manners  for  its  foun- 
dation. —  BULWER 
LYTTON. 


The  common  earth 
is  common  only  to 
those  who  are  deaf  to 
the  voices  and  blind 
to  the  visions  which 
wait  on  it  and  make 
its  flight  a  music  and 
its  path  a  light. — H. 
W.  MABIE. 


The  truest  lives  are 
those  that  are  cut 
rose  -  diamond  -  fash- 
ion, with  many  facets 
answering  to  the 
many  -  planed  aspects 
of  the  world  about 
them. — OLIVER  WEN- 
DELL HOLMES. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


It  seems  to  me 
there  is  no  maxim  for 
a  noble  life  like  this: 
Count  always  your 
highest  moments  your 
truest  moment  s. — 
PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 


We  only  begin  to 
realize  the  value  of 
our  possessions  when 
we  commence  to  do 
good  to  others  with 
them.— JOSEPH  COOK. 


Believe  me,  girls, 
on  the  road  of  life 
you  and  I  will  find 
few  things  more 
worth  while  than  com- 
radeship.  —  MAR- 
GARET E.  SANGSTER. 


scious."  From  this  definition  it  is  easy 
to  deduce  the  conclusion  that  one's 
habits  are  in  fact  one's  manners,  one's 
principles,  one's  mode  of  conduct;  and 
a  careful  consideration  of  the  theme 
finally  brings  one  to  a  clear  realization 
of  the  secret  of 

TRUE  GENTILITY 

One  cannot  from  the  world  conceal 

The  current  of  his  thought ; 
A  word  or  action  will  reveal 

The  thing  his  brain  hath  wrought. 

True  goodness  from  within  must  come 

And  deeds,  to  be  refined, 
Their  outer  grace  must  borrow  from 

Politeness  of  the  mind. 

Our  manners  are  ourselves.  They 
constitute  our  personality  and  it  is  by 
our  personality  that  we  are  judged.  If 
that  is  frank  and  pleasant  and  agreeable 
we  shall  not  lack  for  friends. 

A  person  may  be  deficient  in  the 
charm  of  form  or  face  but  if  the  manners 
are  perfect  they  will  call  forth  admira- 
tion as  nothing  else  could  do. 

Our  thoughts  are  the  essential  and 
impressive  part  of  ourselves.  "It  is  the 

128 


GOLDEN    HABITS 


spirit  that  maketh  alive.  The  flesh 
profiteth  nothing."  We  are  told  by 
Swedenborg  that  "every  volition  and 
thought  of  man  is  inscribed  on  his  brain, 
for  volition  and  thoughts  have  their  be- 
ginnings in  the  brain,  whence  they  are 
conveyed  to  the  bodily  members,  where- 
in they  terminate.  Whatever,  therefore, 
is  in  the  mind  is  in  the  brain,  and  from 
the  brain  in  the  body,  according  to  the 
order  of  its  parts.  Thus  a  man  writes  his 
life  in  his  physique,  and  thus  the  angels 
discover  his  autobiography  in  his  struc- 
ture." 

Since  good  habits  and  pleasing  man- 
ners are  such  important  aids  in  the  mak- 
ing of  character  and  personality  we 
should  leave  nothing  undone  to 
strengthen  the  better  side  of  our  lives. 
And  since  we  all  are  constantly  being 
acted  upon  by  suggestion  we  should  in- 
vite to  our  assistance  anything  that  will 
tend  to  keep  us  in  the  most  exemplary 
frame  of  mind. 

In  addition  to  the  spoken  word  of  ad- 
monition from  parents,  teachers,  and 
others  honestly  interested  in  our  welfare 
we  should  reinforce  our  good  resolves 
by  reading  good  books  and  in  framing 

129 


Do  noble  things,  not 
dream  them,  all  day 
long,  and  so  make 
life,  death,  and  the 
vast  forever,  one 
grand,  sweet  song. — 
CHARLES  KINGSLEY. 


And  to  get  peace,  if 
you  do  want  it,  make 
for  yourself  nests  of 
pleasant  thoughts. — 
RUSKIN. 


When  one  is  so  ded- 
icated to  his  mission, 
so  full  of  a  great  pur- 
pose that  he  has  no 
thought  for  self,  his 
life  is  one  of  unal- 
loyed joy— the  joy  of 
self-sacrifice.  —  LY- 
MAN  ABBOTT. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Morality  is  c  o  n- 
formity  to  the  high- 
est standard  of  right 
and  virtuous  action, 
with  the  best  inten- 
tion founded  on  prin- 
ciple.—A.  E.  WIN- 
SHIP. 


To  have  a  friend  is 
to  have  one  of  the 
sweetest  gifts  that  life 
can  bring;  to  be  a 
friend  is  to  have  a 
solemn  and  tender 
education  of  soul 
from  day  to  day. — 
ANNA  ROBERTSON 
BROWN. 


When  it  comes  to 
doing  a  thing  in  this 
world,  I  don't  ask  my- 
self whether  I  like  it 
or  not,  but,  what 's  the 
best  way  to  get  it 
done.  — ELLEN  GLAS- 
GOW. 


for  our  own  benefit  a  code  of  rules  for 
our  better  conduct. 

It  is  considered  to  be  a  good  plan  to 
select  a  number  of  suitable  quotations 
and  display  them  in  some  manner  where 
the  eye  must  see  them  with  frequency. 
A  calendar  with  a  daily  quotation  admir- 
ably serves  this  purpose.  Oftentimes 
when  a  good  thought  is  put  into  the  mind 
in  the  early  morning  it  tends  to  direct 
the  course  of  our  thinking  throughout 
the  day.  The  following  quotations  are 
offered  only  as  suggestions.  They  can 
be  added  to  indefinitely: 

A  man's  own  good  breeding  is  the  best 
security  against  other  people's  ill  man- 
ners.— Chesterfield. 

Good  breeding  shows  itself  most  when 
to  an  ordinary  eye  it  appears  the  least. 
— Addison. 

Good  manners  is  the  art  of  making 
those  people  easy  with  whom  we  con- 
verse. Whoever  makes  the  fewest  peo- 
ple uneasy  is  the  best  bred  in  the  com- 
pany.— Swift. 

Hail !  ye  small,  sweet  courtesies  of  life, 
for  smooth  do  you  make  the  road  of  it. 
— Sterne. 

130 


GOLDEN    HABITS 


Civility  costs  nothing  and  buys  every- 
thing.— Lady  Montague. 

Evil  communications  corrupt  good 
manners. — Bible. 

No  pleasure  is  comparable  to  stand- 
ing on  the  vantage  ground  of  truth. — 
Lord  Bacon. 

They  are  never  alone  that  are  accom- 
panied with  noble  thoughts. — Sidney. 

Let  your  speech  be  always  with  grace, 
seasoned  with  salt. — New  Testament. 

Sweet  mercy  is  nobility's  true  badge. 
— Shakespeare. 

Honest  labor  bears  a  lovely  face. — 
Dekker. 

The  gods  give  nothing  really  beautiful 
without  labor  and  diligence. — Xeno- 
phon. 

The  key  to  pleasure  is  honest  work. 
All  dishes  taste  good  with  that  sauce. — 
H.  R.  Haweis. 

Work  is  as  necessary  for  peace  of  mind 
as  for  health  of  body. — Lord  Avebury. 

Sir  John  Lubbock  has  said:  "I  cannot, 
however,  but  think  that  the  world  would 
be  better  and  brighter  if  our  teachers 
would  dwell  on  the  duty  of  Happiness, 
as  well  as  the  happiness  of  Duty,  for  we 

131 


Do  you  ask  to  be 
the  companion  of  no- 
bles? Make  yourself 
noble,  and  you  shall 
be.  Do  you  long  for 
the  conversation  of 
the  wise?  Learn  to 
understand  it,  and  you 
shall  hear  it. — Rus- 
KIN. 


There  is  no  cos- 
metic for  homely 
folks  like  character. 
Even  the  plainest  face 
becomes  beautiful  in 
noble  and  radiant 
moods.  —  NEWELL 
DWIGHT  HILLIS. 


A  single  gentle  rain 
makes  the  grass  many 
shades  greener.  So 
our  prospects  brighten 
on  the  influx  of  bet- 
ter thoughts.  —  THO- 
REAU. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


A  good  book  is  the 
precious  life-blood  of 
a  master  spirit  em- 
balmed and  treasured 
up  on  purpose  to  a 
life  beyond  life. — 
MILTON. 


Happiness  is  the 
natural  flower  of 
duty.  —  PHILLIPS 
BROOKS. 


By  wisdom  wealth 
is  won;  but  riches 
purchased  wisdom  yet 
for  none.  —  BAYARD 
TAYLOR. 


ought  to  be  as  cheerful  as  we  can,  if  only 
because  to  be  happy  ourselves  is  the  most 
effectual  contribution  to  the  happiness 
of  others." 

Surely  we  cannot  include  among  good 
habits  the  habit  of  making  those  about 
us  unhappy.  Hence  it  is  that  they  who 
are  careless  of  the  state  of  mind  into 
which  they  throw  those  about  them  are 
not  good  mannered.  While  it  is  but  sim- 
ple kindness  to  allow  our  friends  to  sym- 
pathize in  the  great  griefs  that  may  over- 
take us,  it  is  not  kindness  for  us  to  be 
forever  stirring  them  with  all  the  real  or 
fancied  ills  with  which  we  can  regale 
them.  Either  extreme  is  more  or  less 
absurd  and  unwarranted.  Perhaps,  as 
a  rule,  we  thrust  our  troubles  quite  too 
willingly  upon  others.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  of  the  peoples  of  the  Orient 
we  deem  to  be  so  ludicrously  polite  in 
matters  of  this  nature  as  to  almost 
arouse  our  mirth. 

An  English  writer  in  speaking  of  the 
Japanese  says:  "There  must  really  have 
been  a  double  portion  of  politeness  be- 
stowed upon  these  people  who  in  the 
deepest  domestic  grief  would  smile  and 
smile,  so  that  a  guest  in  the  home  might 
132 


GOLDEN     HABITS 


not  be  burdened  with  their  sorrow.  The 
habit  is  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
weeping  and  wailing,  the  mourning 
streamers,  the  hatbands,  plumes,  palls, 
black  chargers,  and  funeral  hearses  with 
which  we  struggle  to  stir  the  envy,  if 
not  the  hearts  of  all  beholders!" 

In  Japan,  so  we  are  told,  manners  are 
included  in  the  public  teaching  of  moral- 
ity. Among  our  western  peoples  our 
public  school  boys  would  deem  it  strange 
if  a  master  gave  them  an  hour's  instruc- 
tion in  the  correct  manner  of  behaving 
toward  their  father  and  mother  or  sis- 
ters. Yet  such  knowledge  might  be  ur- 
gently needed  and  do  good  here  as  it 
does  in  Japan  where  it  is  counted  the 
most  vital  instruction  of  all.  Step  by 
step  the  Japanese  child  is  led  along  the 
course  of  behavior,  learning  how  to 
stand  up,  sit  down,  bow,  hang  up  its  hat, 
and  how  to  think  of  its  parents,  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  of  its  country.  Later  on 
these  lessons  are  repeated  with  illustra- 
tions from  short  stories,  and  still  later 
by  incidents  from  actual  history  and  the 
lives  of  great  men  of  all  countries.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  course  of  instruction 
is  reached  all  manner  of  virtues  and 

133 


It  is  surely  better  to 
pardon  too  much  than 
to  condemn  too  much. 
— GEORGE  ELIOT. 


To  be  a  strong  hand 
in  the  dark  to  another 
in  the  time  of  need, 
to  be  a  cup  of 
strength  to  a  human 
soul  in  a  crisis  of 
weakness,  is  to  know 
the  glory  of  life. — 
HUGH  BLACK. 


It  is  not  the  result 
of  our  acts  that  makes 
them  brave  and  noble, 
but  the  acts  them- 
selves and  the  unsel- 
fish love  that  moved 
us  to  do  them. — R.  L. 
STEVENSON. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Use  thy  youth  so 
that  thou  mayest  have 
comfort  to  remember 
it  when  it  hath  for- 
saken thee.— WALTER 
RALEIGH. 


It  is  easy  to  con- 
demn; it  is  better  to 
pity.— ABBOTT. 


If  you  don't  scale 
the  mountain,  you 
can't  view  the  plain.— 
CHINESE  PROVERB. 


points  of  behavior  have  been  introduced, 
such  as  patriotism,  cleanliness,  and  (es- 
pecially in  the  case  of  girls)  the  proper 
way  of  advancing  and  retiring,  offering 
and  accepting  things,  sleeping  and  eat- 
ing, visiting,  congratulating  and  con- 
doling, mourning  and  holding  public 
meetings.  So  the  school  course  contin- 
ues from  year  to  year,  the  elementary 
school  course  lasting  four  years  and  the 
secondary  course  four  years  more,  and 
leading  the  boys  and  girls  up  to  the 
study  of  benevolence,  their  duty  to  an- 
cestors, to  other  people's  property,  other 
people's  honor,  other  people's  freedom, 
and,  finally,  to  self-discipline,  modesty, 
dignity,  dress,  labor,  the  treatment  of 
animals,  and  the  due  relations  of  men 
and  women,  both  of  whom  are  to  be  re- 
garded equally  as  "lords"  of  creation. 
From  end  to  end  of  the  long  course  of 
training,  behavior  rather  than  knowl- 
edge is  insisted  upon,  even  down  to  the 
tiniest  detail  of  what  our  good  great- 
grandmothers  valued  as  deportment. 

To  such  scrupulous  deportment  and 

close  attention  to  minuteness  of  habit, 

some  objection  can  be  raised,  perhaps. 

"Some  men's  behavior,"  said  Bacon,  "is 

134 


GOLDEN     HABITS 


like  a  verse  wherein  every  syllable  is 
measured,"  and  he  warned  us  that  man- 
ners must  be  like  apparel,  "not  too  strait 
or  point-device,  but  free  for  exercise  or 
motion."  However,  it  is  better  to  err 
on  the  side  of  too  much  attention  to  our 
manners  rather  than  to  be  thought  care- 
less of  our  persons  and  our  behavior. 

Civilized  peoples  cannot  help  but  be 
concerned  with  manners,  refinement, 
good  breeding,  and  in  a  more  minute 
sense,  with  the  forms  of  etiquette.  It  is 
these  things  that  distinguish  civilization 
from  savagery,  and  so  unmistakably  lift 
the  cultured  person  above  the  one  who 
does  not  see  fit  to  cultivate  the  grace  of 
gentility. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  we  judge 
our  neighbors  severely  by  the  breach  of 
written  or  traditional  laws,  and  choose 
our  society,  and  even  our  friends,  by  the 
touchstone  of  courtesy.  It  is  not  an  un- 
common occurrence  for  a  girl  or  a  boy 
to  win  an  advantageous  position  in  life, 
not  by  superior  mental  or  physical  en- 
dowments but  by  a  graciousness  of  man- 
ners that  have  smoothed  for  them  the 
ways  that  lead  to  success. 

For  some  quite  unwarranted  reason 

135 


For  him  who  as- 
pires, and  for  him 
who  loves  his  fellow- 
beings,  life  may  lead 
through  the  thorns, 
but  it  never  stops  in 
the  desert.  —  ANONY- 
MOUS. 


Be  cheerful ;  wipe 
thine  eyes:  some  falls 
are  means  the  happier 
to  arise.  —  WILLIAM 
SHAKESPEARE. 


Be  resolutely  and 
faithfully  what  you 
are,  be  humbly  what 
you  aspire  to  be. — 
THOREAU. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


If  people  only  knew 
their  own  brothers 
and  sisters,  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  would 
not  be  far  off. — 
GEORGE  MACDONALD. 


The  shadows  of  our 
own  desires  stand  be- 
tween us  and  our  bet- 
ter angel. — DICKENS. 


If  every  day  we  can 
feel,  if  only  for  a  mo- 
ment, the  realization 
of  being  our  best 
selves,  you  may  be 
sure  that  we  are  suc- 
c  ceding.  —  BLISS 
CARMAN. 


society  seems  to  have  taken  the  position 
that  we  have  a  right  to  expect  more 
from  our  girls  than  from  our  boys  in  the 
matter  of  good  manners.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  view  held  by  those  who 
know  the  true  meaning  of  good  breed- 
ing. The  demand  that  every  boy  shall 
be  a  gentleman  is  as  firm  and  binding 
as  is  that  which  says  that  every  girl 
must  be  a  gentle  woman  and  a  thorough 
lady. 

Every  girl  knows  what  is  expected  of 
her.  Her  parents,  brothers,  sisters, 
teachers,  society  and  the  world  intend 
that  she  shall  be  good  and  gentle  and 
gracious.  They  will  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  all  that  and  it  will  be 
well  for  every  girl  to  learn  early  in  life 
to  pursue  only  the  paths  that  will  lead 
into  ways  wherein  these  qualities  of  per- 
son and  character  may  be  found.  So 
here  and  now  it  is  timely  to  ask  of  the 
readers  of  these  lines — 

WHAT  ARE  YOU  GOING  TO  DO? 

What  are  you  going  to  do,  girls, 
With  the  years  that  are  hurrying  on? 

Do  you  mean  to  begin  life's  purpose  to  win 
In  the  freshness  and  strength  of  the  dawn? 
136 


GOLDEN     HABITS 


The  builders  who  build  in  the  morning, 

At  even  may  joyfully  rest, 
Their  victories  won,  as  they  watch  the  glad  sun 

Sink  down  in  the  beautiful  west. 

What  are  you  going  to  do,  girls, 

With  time  as  it  ceaselessly  flows? 
Are  you  molding  a  heart  that  will  pleasures 
impart 

As  perfume  exhales  from  the  rose? 
Let  all  that  is  purest  and  grandest 

In  duty's  fair  wreath  be  entwined ; 
There  is  no  other  grace  can  illumine  the  face 

Like  the  charm  of  a  beautiful  mind. 

A  student  of  the  subject  of  ethics  must 
understand  that  the  true  spirit  of  good 
manners  is  very  closely  allied  to  that  of 
good  morals.  It  has  been  pointed  out 
that  no  stronger  proof  of  this  assertion 
is  required  than  the  fact  that  the  Mes- 
siah himself,  in  his  great  moral  teach- 
ings, so  frequently  touches  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  manners.  He  teaches  that  mod- 
esty is  the  true  spirit  of  good  behavior, 
and  openly  rebukes  the  forward  manner 
of  His  followers  in  taking  the  upper 
seats  at  the  banquet  and  the  highest 
seats  in  the  synagogues. 

The  philosophers  whose  names  are 
recorded  in  history,  although  they  were, 

137 


If  you  know  how  to 
spend  less  than  you 
get,  you  have  the 
philosopher's  stone. — 
BENJAMIN  FRANKUN. 


He  only  is  advanc- 
i  n  g  in  life,  whose 
heart  is  getting  softer, 
whose  blood  warmer, 
whose  brain  quicker, 
whose  spirit  is  enter- 
ing into  living  peace. 
— RUSKIN. 


The  fine  art  of  liv- 
ing, indeed,  is  to 
draw  from  each  per- 
son his  best. — LILIAN 
WHITING. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Reflect  upon  your 
present  blessings  —  of 
which  every  man  has 
many  —  not  on  your 
past  misfortunes,  of 
which  all  men  have 
some.  —  DICKENS. 


If  the  day  and  the 
night  are  such  that 
you  greet  them  with 
joy,  and  life  emits  a 
fragrance  like  flow- 
ers and  sweet-scented 
herbs— is  more  elastic, 
more  starry,  more  im- 
mortal—  that  is  your 
success.  —  THOREAU. 


Blessings  ever  wait 
on    virtuous   deeds. — 

CONGREVE. 


themselves,  seldom  distinguished  for  fine 
manners,  did  not  fail  to  teach  the  import- 
ance of  them  to  others.  Socrates  and 
Aristotle  have  left  behind  them  a  code 
of  ethics  that  might  easily  be  turned 
into  a  "Guide  to  the  Complete  Gentle- 
man;" and  Lord  Bacon  has  written  an 
essay  on  manners  in  which  he  reminds 
us  that  a  stone  must  be  of  very  high 
value  to  do  without  a  setting. 

The  motive  in  cultivating  good  man- 
ners should  not  be  shallow  and  super- 
ficial. Lord  Chesterfield  says  that  the 
motive  that  makes  one  wish  to  be  polite 
is  a  desire  to  shine  among  his  fellows  and 
to  raise  one's  self  into  a  society  sup- 
posed to  be  better  than  his  own.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  state  that  Lord  Chester- 
field's good  manners,  fine  as  they  appear, 
do  not  bear  the  true  stamp  of  genuine- 
ness. There  is  not  the  living  person  back 
of  them  possessing  heart  and  character. 
They  seem  to  him,  in  a  measure,  what  a 
fine  gown  does  to  the  wax  figure  in  the 
dressmaker's  window.  True  manners 
mean  more  than  mannerisms.  They  can- 
not be  taught  entirely  from  a  book  in 
which  there  are  sets  of  rules  to  be  ob- 
served on  any  and  every  occasion.  They 
138 


GOLDEN    HABITS 


are  rather  a  cultivated  method  of  think- 
ing and  feeling  and  the  forming  of  a 
character  that  knows,  intuitively,  the 
nice  and  kind  and  appropriate  thing  to 
do  without  reference  to  what  a  printed 
rule  of  conduct  may  set  forth. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  our  best 
and  only  right  motive  in  the  cultivation 
of  good  manners  should  be  to  make  our- 
selves better  than  we  otherwise  would 
be,  to  render  ourselves  agreeable  to 
every  one  whom  we  may  meet,  and  to 
improve,  it  may  be,  the  society  in  which 
we  are  placed.  With  these  objects  in 
view,  it  is  plainly  as  much  a  moral  duty 
to  cultivate  one's  manners  as  it  is  to  cul- 
tivate one's  mind,  and  no  one  can  deny 
that  we  are  better  citizens  when  we  ob- 
serve the  nicer  amenities  of  society  than 
we  are  when  we  pay  no  heed  to  them. 

Lord  Bacon  says:  "Many  examples 
may  be  put  of  the  force  of  custom,  both 
upon  mind  and  body.  Therefore,  since 
custom  is  the  principle  magistrate  of 
man's  life,  let  men  by  all  means  endeavor 
to  obtain  good  customs.  Certainly  cus- 
tom is  most  perfect  when  it  beginneth 
in  young  years;  this  we  call  education, 
which  is,  in  effect,  but  an  early  custom." 

139 


The  microscope 
gives  us  a  world,  a 
universe,  a  single  drop 
of  dew.  So  also  there 
is  a  world  in  a  single 
profound,  earnest 
meditation.  —  M  A  - 

DAME  SWETCHINE. 


Better  is  it  to  have 
a  small  portion  of 
good  sense,  with  hu- 
mility and  a  slender 
understanding,  than 
great  treasures  of 
science,  with  vain 
self  -  complacency.  — 
THOMAS  A  KEMPIS. 


There  is  one  road 
to  peace  and  that  is 
truth. — SHELLEY. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


He  hath  from  his 
childhood  conversed 
with  books  and  book- 
men; and  always  be- 
ing where  the  frank- 
incense of  the  temple 
was  offered,  there 
must  be  some  per- 
fume remaining  about 
him. — THOMAS  FUL- 
LER. 


Everything  great  is 
not  always  good,  but 
all  good  things  are 
great.  —  DEMOS- 
THENES. 


The  turmoil  of  the 
world  will  always  die, 
if  we  set  our  faces  to 
climb  heavenward.— 
HAWTHORNE. 


So  we  see  that  our  true  characters  are 
but  the  expression  of  our  habits  and  of 
our  manners.  And  we  see  that  only  those 
habits  that  are  formed  in  the  early  years 
of  life  seem  to  fit  us  perfectly  and  natu- 
rally throughout  all  the  years. 

It  is  an  old  saying  and  a  homely  one, 
but  none  the  less  true,  that  "it  is  hard  to 
teach  an  old  dog  new  tricks."  So  it  is 
hard  to  acquire  in  later  life  the  manners 
and  graces  that  escape  us  in  youth. 

Fortunate  is  the  young  girl  who  finds 
her  lot  is  cast  among  the  good  influences 
of  a  cultured  home.  She  has  at  hand  the 
material  from  which  to  select  all  that  she 
may  need  to  build  the  fine  character  the 
world  shall  observe  and  admire.  Such 
felicitous  surroundings  should  teach 
her,  first  of  all,  to  be  very  charitable  and 
lenient  toward  others  whose  early  years 
are  lived  among  less  advantageous  sur- 
roundings. For  if  her  culture  does  not 
in  some  ways  influence  and  soften  and 
modify  her  heart  as  well  as  her  mind, 
its  true  purpose  has  been  lost. 

Those  whose  earlier  years  are  spent 

amid  surroundings  not  so  favorable  for 

the  forming  of  golden  habits,  must  strive 

all  the  harder  for  the  prize  of  gentility 

140 


GOLDEN     HABITS 


which  they  would  obtain.  And  in  this 
very  struggle  against  adverse  circum- 
stances will  be  engendered  a  strength 
and  a  spirit  of  self-reliance  that  will  be 
likely  to  prove  a  worthy  equivalent  for 
the  loss  of  a  more  kindly  and  propitious 
environment. 

It  is  experience  that  develops  char- 
acter, and  character  is  the  one  thing  that 
distinguishes  a  life  and  makes  it  a  defi- 
nite and  individual  thing  of  supreme 
beauty. 

The  character  that  is  the  most  labor- 
iously built  is  the  most  enduring.  Golden 
habits  that  have  been  hammered  out  of 
our  life  experiences  are  to  be  implicitly 
relied  upon.  They  have  been  tested  at 
every  point.  They  have  been  shaped 
out  of  the  very  necessity  of  one's  sur- 
roundings. They  are  worth  every  effort 
that  they  have  cost.  The  world  will 
never  know  how  much  of  its  integrity, 
how  much  of  its  stability,  how  much  of 
its  beauty  it  owes  to  that  which  we  are 
all  so  prone  to  call 

DRUDGERY 

Dull  drudgery,  "gray  angel  of  success ;" 
Enduring  purpose,  waiting  long  and  long, 

141 


If  I  can  put  one 
touch  of  a  rosy  sun- 
set into  the  life  of  any 
man  or  woman,  I  shall 
feel  that  I  have  work- 
ed with  God. — GEORGE 

MACDONALD. 


Our  business  in  life 
is  not  to  get  ahead  of 
other  people  but  to 
get  ahead  of  our- 
selves. —  MALTBIE  D. 
BABCOCK. 


The  narrow  king- 
dom of  to-day  is  bet- 
ter worth  ruling  over 
than  the  widest  past 
or  future.  —  EDITH 
WHARTON. 


THE     GIRL     WANTED 


There 's  always  a 
bloom  on  the  world 
i  f  one  looks.  —  ABBY 
M.  ROACH. 


The  reward  of  one 
duty  is  the  power  to 
fulfill  another.  — 
GEORGE  ELIOT. 


Headache  or  heartache,  blent  with  sigh  or 

song, 

Forever  delving  mid  the  strife  and  stress : 
Within  the  bleak  confines  of  your  duress 

Are    laid    the    firm    foundations,    deep    and 

strong, 
Whereon   men   build  the   right  against  the 

wrong, — 

The    toil-wrought    monuments    that    lift    and 
bless. 

The  coral  reefs;  the  bee's  o'erflowing  cells; 

The  Pyramids;  all  things  that  shall  endure; 
The  books  on  books  wherein  all  wisdom  dwells, 

Are  wrought  with  plodding  patience,  slow 

and  sure. 
Yours  the  time-tempered  fashioning  that  spells 

Of  chaos,  order,  perfect  and  secure. 


112 


GEORGE    ELIOT 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  PURPOSE  OF  LIFE 

"MOTHING  succeeds  like  success." 
Perhaps  the  true  meaning  of  this 
old  French  proverb  is  that  once  we  have 
a  measure  of  success  we  are  the  more 
likely  to  achieve  still  more  victories. 
The  discovery  that  our  strength,  per- 
severance and  determination  have  been 
capable  of  bending  circumstances  to  our 
will  and  bringing  to  fulfillment  the  end 
for  which  we  have  wished  and  worked, 
gives  us  renewed  courage  and  inspira- 
tion for  the  undertaking  of  new  and 
larger  duties. 

We  learn  to  do  by  doing.  Achieve- 
ment leads  to  still  greater  achievement. 
Orison  Swett  Harden,  one  of  the  world's 
wisest  of  observers  and  deepest  of  phi- 
losophers, says,  "The  world  makes  way 
for  the  determined  man."  And  so  it  does 

145 


He  who  works  for 
sweetness  and  light 
works  to  make  reason 
and  the  will  of  God 
prevail.  —  MATTHEW 
ARNOLD. 


Let  us  ever  glory  in 
something,  and  strive 
to  retain  our  admira- 
tion for  all  that  would 
ennoble,  and  our  in- 
terest in  all  that  would 
enrich  and  beautify 
our  life.  —  PHILLIPS 
BROOKS. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Nothing  of  worth 
or  weight  can  be 
achieved  with  half  a 
mind,  with  a  faint 
heart,  and  with  a 
lame  endeavor.— BAR- 
ROW. 


Good  manners  are 
part  of  good  morals. 
— WHATELY. 


After  all,  the  kind 
of  world  one  carries 
about  within  one's  self 
is  the  important  thing, 
and  the  world  outside 
takes  all  its  grace, 
color  and  value  from 
that.— LOWELL. 


for  the  determined  woman,  or  the  deter- 
mined girl  or  boy. 

Regarding  this  thing  called  "Success," 
too  many  of  us  are  apt  to  think  that  it 
means  some  one,  isolated,  remarkable 
achievement,  that  comes  at  the  end  of  a 
long  period  of  striving  in  some  particu- 
lar field  of  endeavor.  This  is  not  en- 
tirely true.  Every  great  success  is  made 
of  very  many  lesser  successes  that  have 
preceded  it.  Just  as  the  cap-stone  at  the 
top  of  the  tallest  building  is  held  in  its 
lofty  position  by  every  stone  beneath  it 
even  down  to  the  ones  deep  in  the  earth 
at  the  very  foundation  of  the  structure, 
which  are  indeed  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant of  all. 

So  the  thing  which  the  world  is 
pleased  to  call  "Success"  is  built  up  by 
a  thousand  little  successes  on  which  it 
must  finally  rest.  The  building  of  a 
life  success  begins  with  the  earliest  dawn 
of  being  and  must  be  carried  on  with  as 
much  care  as  a  mason  would  give  to  the 
laying  of  the  walls  of  a  structure  de- 
signed to  stand  for  years.  The  mason 
knows  that  if  he  does  not  lay  his  founda- 
tions deep  and  firm,  that  if  the  walls  are 
not  kept  straight  and  plumb,  that  if  he 

146 


THE    PURPOSE     OF    LIFE 


puts  faulty  bricks  or  stones  in  the  walls, 
the  building  will  not  be  a  success.  The 
work  at  every  stage  must  be  a  success 
or  the  completed  structure  must  be  a 
failure. 

So  it  is  in  life.  If  our  moments  are  not 
successful,  the  hours  can  never  be  so, 
and  the  days  and  years  can  but  enlarge 
upon  and  emphasize  their  failure.  "Every 
day  is  a  fresh  beginning,  every  morn  is 
a  world  made  new,"  says  Susan  Cool- 
idge.  There  is  a  chance  for  attaining 
success  every  hour  and  day  of  our 
lives. 

Success  is  not  alone  for  the  great  men 
of  the  world  who  find  new  continents, 
explore  the  poles,  navigate  the  air,  write 
great  poems,  paint  great  pictures,  or  who 
amass  fortunes  of  millions  of  dollars. 
No,  success  is  for  any  and  all  of  us,  here 
and  now,  any  and  all  the  time. 

Were  you  prepared  in  your  studies  at 
school  to-day?  If  you  were,  that  was 
success. 

Have  you  your  music  lesson  well  in 
hand  for  this  afternoon?  If  so,  that 
means  success. 

Have  you  been  kind  to  everybody  to- 
day, and  with  a  pleasant  word  and  a  will- 

147 


In  character,  in 
manner,  in  style,  in 
all  things  the  supreme 
excellence  is  simplic- 
ity.— LONGFELLOW. 


The  small  courtesies 
sweeten  life ;  the 
greater  ennoble  it. — 
BOVEE. 


Never  mind  if  you 
cannot  do  all  things 
just  as  well  as  you 
would  like  to.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  do 
things  just  as  well  as 
you  can.  —  PATRICK 
FLYNN. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Not  so  much  beau- 
tiful features  as  a 
beautiful  soul  can 
make  a  beautiful  face. 
— MARGARET  E.  SANG- 
STER. 


There  is  a  marvel- 
ous power  in  a  well- 
defined  individuality. 
—  JOE  MITCHELL 
CHAPPLE, 


Resolution  always 
gives  us  courage. — A. 
E.  WINSHIP. 


ing  hand,  done  all  you  could  to  make  life 
pleasanter  and  happier  for  those  about 
you?  If  so,  that  is  a  fine  moral  success. 
And  if  you  will  multiply  the  achieve- 
ments of  to-day  by  the  days  that  are  in 
the  years  before  you,  you  can  see  the  re- 
sult that  you  have  a  reason  to  expect,  as 
your  life's  work. 

Success  means  doing  all  that  we  can 
do  as  well  as  we  can  do  it.  It  may  be 
work  or  it  may  be  play.  It  may  be  some- 
thing of  seemingly  little  account  or  it 
may  be  something  of  importance,  but 
unless  we  do  it  well,  and  to  the  best  of 
our  ability  it  will  not  be  a  success. 

"Every  day,"  says  Bunsen,  "ought  to 
be  begun  as  a  serious  work,  standing 
alone  in  itself,  and  yet  connected  with 
the  past  and  the  future."  And  Ruskin 
still  further  emphasizes  this  thought  in 
the  words:  "Let  every  dawn  of  morning 
be  to  you  as  the  beginning  of  life,  and 
every  setting  sun  be  to  you  as  its  close; 
then  let  every  one  of  these  short  lives 
leave  its  sure  record  of  some  kindly 
thing  done  for  others." 

We  begin  to  achieve  success  when  we 
do  the  things  that  are  necessary  for  such 
achievement.  Huxley  expressed  the 

148 


THE    PURPOSE    OF    LIFE 


whole  secret  of  the  matter  when  he  said: 
"Perhaps  the  most  valuable  result  of  all 
education  is  the  ability  to  make  yourself 
do  the  thing  you  have  to  do,  when  it 
ought  to  be  done,  as  it  ought  to  be  done, 
whether  you  like  to  do  it  or  not." 

A  good  life,  which  is  but  another  name 
for  success,  does  not  come  by  accident. 
Fortune  may  seem  to  favor  it  but  it  is  the 
disposition  to  seize  upon  the  opportuni- 
ties that  present  themselves  that  make 
some  lives  seem  more  blest  with  "good 
chances"  than  others. 

Self  cultivation  is  the  secret  of  most 
all  attainments  in  the  realm  of  human 
endeavor.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  that 
others  can  do  for  us  is  as  nothing  to  that 
which  we  may  do  for  ourselves.  Persons 
who  do  things  usually  have  to  work  for 
results,  or  they  have  at  some  time  had  to 
work  to  acquire  the  habits  that  later  on 
make  it  seem  so  easy  for  them  to  do  fine 
things.  "We  think,"  says  J.  C.  Van 
Dyke,  "because  the  completed  work 
looks  easy  or  reads  easy,  that  it  must 
have  been  done  easily.  But  the  geniuses 
of  the  world  have  all  put  upon  record 
their  conviction  that  there  is  more  virtue 
in  perspiration  than  in  inspiration.  The 

149 


Of  all  fruitless  er- 
rands, sending  a  tear 
to  look  after  a  day 
that  has  gone  is  the 
most  f  r  u  i  1 1  e  s  s. — 
DICKENS. 


You  can  never  be 
wise  unless  you  love 
reading. — JOHNSON. 


The  perfecting  of 
one's  self  is  the  fund- 
amental base  of  all 
progress  and  all 
moral  development. — • 
CONFUCIUS. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Nothing  can  be 
beautiful  which  is  not 
true.— RUSKIN. 


It  is  not  a  lucky 
word,  this  same  im- 
possible ;  no  good 
comes  to  those  who 
have  it  so  often  in 
their  mouth.  —  CAR- 

LYLE. 


I  wasted  time,  and 
now  time  doth  waste 
me.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 


great  poets,  whether  in  print  or  in  paint, 
have  spent  their  weeks  and  months — 
yes,  years — composing,  adjusting,  put- 
ting in  and  taking  out.  They  have 
known  what  it  is  to  'lick  things  into 
shape/  to  labor  and  be  baffled,  to  despair 
and  to  hope  anew." 

With  the  dawning  of  every  morning, 
life  comes  bringing  to  us  a  new  and 
wonderful  day  to  employ  it  as  we  will. 
Shall  it  be  a  fine,  gratifying  success,  or 
shall  it  be  a  failure  ?  Shall  it  be  part  suc- 
cess and  part  failure?  There  can  be  no 
doubt  about  it  being  a  matter  that  is 
very  largely  in  our  own  keeping. 

MORNING  GATES 
Each  golden  dawn  presents  two  gates 

That  open  to  the  day ; 
Through  one  a  path  of  joy  awaits, 

Through  one  a  weary  way. 
Choose  well,  for  by  that  choice  is  willed 

If  ye  shall  be  distressed 
At  eventide,  or  richly  filled 

With  strength  and  peace  and  rest. 

"Every  true  life,"  says  J.  R.  Miller, 
"should  be  a  perpetual  climbing  upward. 
We  should  put  our  faults  under  our  feet, 
and  make  them  steps  on  which  to  lift  our- 
selves daily  a  little  higher We  never 

160 


THE     PURPOSE     OF     LIFE 


in  this  world  get  to  a  point  where  we 
may  regard  ourselves  as  having  reached 
life's  goal,  as  having  attained  the  loftiest 
height  within  our  reach;  there  are  al- 
ways other  rounds  of  the  ladder  to 
climb." 

So  we  know  that  the  purpose  of  life 
is  not  to  make  a  failure  of  it.  And  we 
know  that  we  cannot  make  it  a  success 
unless  we  work  toward  that  end.  "The 
first  great  rule  is,  we  must  do  something 
— that  life  must  have  a  purpose  and  an 
aim — that  work  should  be  not  merely 
occasional  and  spasmodic,  but  steady 
and  continuous,"  says  Lecky.  "Pleas- 
ure is  a  jewel  which  will  retain  its  luster 
only  when  it  is  in  a  setting  of  work,  and 
a  vacant  life  is  one  of  the  worst  of  pains, 
though  the  islands  of  leisure  that  stud  a 
crowded,  well-occupied  life  may  be 
among  the  things  to  which  we  look  back 
with  the  greatest  delight." 

There  can  be  no  interest  where  there 
is  no  purpose.  How  tiresome  it  would 
very  soon  become  if  we  were  compelled 
to  make  idle,  useless  marks  upon  paper, 
without  any  design  whatsoever.  But  to 
be  able  to  draw  pictures  is  a  delight  that 
no  one  can  forego.  "The  most  pitiable 

151 


Youth,  all  possibil- 
ities are  in  its  hands 
— LONGFELLOW. 


Thought  is  deepei 
than  all  s  p  e  e  c  h.- 
CRANCH. 


People  influence  u 
who  have  no  busines 
to  do  it,  simpl; 
because  we  have  neg 
lected  to  train  our 
selves  to  attend  t 
our  own  affairs. — A 
E.  WINSHIP. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


As  the  heart,  so  is 
the  life.  The  within  is 
ceaselessly  becoming 
the  without.  —  JAMES 
ALLEN. 


I  have  faith  in  the 
people.  —  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 


Of  all  the  propensi- 
ties which  teach  man- 
kind to  torment  them- 
selves, that  of  cause- 
less fear  is  the  most 
irritating,  busy,  pain- 
ful and  pitiable.— 
—WALTER  SCOTT. 


life  is  the  aimless  life,"  says  Jenkin 
Lloyd  Jones.  "Heaven  help  the  man  or 
woman,  the  boy  or  girl,  who  is  not  inter- 
ested in  anything  outside  of  his  or  her 
own  immediate  comfort  and  that  related 
thereto,  who  eats  bread  to  make 
strength  for  no  special  cause,  who  pur- 
sues science,  reads  poetry,  studies  books, 
for  no  earthly  or  heavenly  purpose  than 
mere  enjoyment  or  acquisition;  who 
goes  on  accumulating  wealth,  piling  up 
money,  with  no  definite  or  absorbing 
purpose  to  apply  it  to  anything  in  partic- 
ular." 

Perhaps  we  expect  to-day,  more  than 
men  have  at  any  other  time  in  the 
world's  history,  that  girls  as  well  as 
boys,  must  look  forward  to  doing  some- 
thing definite  in  life.  It  is  not  deemed 
sufficient  for  anyone  simply  "to  be." 
The  whole  world  is  now  living  the  verb 
"to  do."  The  grace,  strength,  beauty 
and  worth  of  womanhood  is  being  en- 
hanced with  the  constantly  enlarging 
sphere  of  women's  work.  The  primitive, 
almost  heathen,  notion  that  the  femi- 
nine sex  constituted  a  handicap  in  the 
achieving  of  great  success  in  a  great  ma- 
jority of  the  fields  of  human  endeavor  is 

152 


THE     PURPOSE     OF     LIFE 


rapidly  fading  away.  It  can  no  longer 
stand  in  the  light  of  the  brilliant  achieve- 
ments women  are  making  everywhere. 
Indeed,  men  are  becoming  well  con- 
vinced that  their  presumed  supremacy 
in  many  of  the  world's  spheres  of  work 
is  being  successfully  challenged  at  every 
point.  So  general  is  this  experience  be- 
coming that  the  present  status  of  things 
might  well  be  set  forth  somewhat  after 
the  following  style: 

MAN,  POOR  MAN! 

The  question  used  to  be,  't  is  true, 
"What  tasks  are  there  for  girls  to  do?" 
But  now  we  've  reached  an  epoch  when 
We  ask:  "What  is  there  left  for  men?" 

They  '11  keep  enlarging  "woman's  sphere" 
Till  man,  poor,  shrinking  man,  we  fear, 
Must  grow  quite  useless,  after  while, 
And  go  completely  out  of  style. 

This  piece  of  frivolity  can  well  be  par- 
doned on  account  of  its  absurdity.  The 
great  work  of  the  world  is  so  broad,  so 
deep,  so  high,  that  it  calls  for  the  best  en- 
deavors of  all  girls  and  boys,  women  and 
men.  That  the  door  of  opportunity  is 
henceforth  to  be  open  to  all  is  an  assur- 
ance that  the  work  is  to  be  more  grandly 

153 


He  who  cannot 
smile  ought  not  to 
keep  a  shop.  —  CHI- 
NESE PROVERB. 


Common  sense 
bows  to  the  inevitable 
and  makes  use  of  it. 
— WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 


If  you  wish  success 
in  life,  make  perse- 
verance your  bosom 
friend,  experience 
your  wise  counsel- 
or, c  a  u  t  i  on  your 
elder  brother,  and 
hope  your  guard- 
ian genius.  —  ADDI- 
SON. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


Self -distrust  is  the 
cause  of  most  of  our 
failures.— BOVEE. 


It  is  generally  the 
idle  who  complain 
they  cannot  find  time 
to  do  that  which  they 
fancy  they  wish. — 
LUBBOCK. 


What  ardently  we 
wish  we  soon  believe. 
— YOUNG. 


and  beautifully  done  than  ever  before. 
What  women  may  do  in  the  years  to 
come  is  wonderfully  set  forth  by  what 
women  have  done  in  the  past.  All  his- 
tory is  filled  with  the  splendid  achieve- 
ments of  the  women  of  the  world.  A 
girl  of  to-day  will  find  no  reading  more 
helpful  and  inspiring  than  the  lives  of 
such  noble  women  as  Martha  Washing- 
ion,  Queen  Victoria,  Sally  Bush — Ab- 
raham Lincoln's  good  step-mother — 
Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Beecher  Stowe,  Miss  Louisa  Alcott, 
Laura  Bridgman,  Charlotte  Cushman, 
Maria  Mitchell,  Lady  Franklin,  Mrs. 
Julia  Ward  Howe,  and  Florence  Night- 
ingale. 

If  the  girls  of  to-day  are  to  have  larger 
rewards  in  the  world's  work,  they  must 
fit  themselves  for  the  larger  responsibili- 
ties. Every  prudent  girl  will,  of  course, 
talk  over  the  prospect  of  her  future  years 
with  her  parents,  her  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, her  teachers,  or  with  mature  and 
responsible  friends.  So  very,  very  much 
depends  on  laying  the  right  foundations. 
But  there  are  many  qualities  that  must 
constitute  parts  of  every  enduring  foun- 
dation. 

154 


THE     PURPOSE     OF     LIFE 


Attention,  application,  accuracy, 
method,  punctuality,  good  behavior, 
modesty,  gentility,  enlightenment,  all  of 
these  and  more  are  essential  to  success 
and  for  the  highest  achievement  of  the 
true  purpose  of  living. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  it  is  the  repe- 
tition of  little  acts  which  constitutes  not 
only  the  sum  of  human  character,  but 
which  determines  the  character  of  na- 
tions; and  where  men  or  nations  have 
broken  down,  it  will  almost  invariably 
be  found  that  neglect  of  little  things  was 
the  rock  on  which  they  were  wrecked. 

Every  human  being  has  duties  to  be 
performed,  and,  therefore,  has  need  of 
cultivating  the  capacity  for  doing  them 
— whether  the  sphere  of  action  be  the 
management  of  a  household,  the  con- 
duct of  a  trade  or  a  profession,  or  the 
government  of  a  nation. 

The  one  fixed  truth  in  the  matter  of 
character-building  is  the  fact  that  steady 
attention  to  the  little  matters  of  detail 
lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  human 
progress. 

The  splendid  trees  that  lift  their 
branches  heavenward  depend  for  their 
sustenance  on  the  tiny  thread-like  roots 

155 


Nature  never 
stands  still,  nor  souls 
neither]  they  ever  go 
up  or  go  down. — 
JULIA  C  R.  DORR. 


Thought  alone  is 
eternal.   —   OWEN 

MEREDITH. 


Only  those  live 
who  do  good. — TOL- 
STOI. 


THE     GIRL    WANTED 


The  greatest  truths 
are  the  simplest. — 
HARE. 


Many  people  owe 
the  grandeur  of  their 
lives  to  their  tremen- 
d  o  u  s  difficulties. — 
SPURGEON. 


Thought  by  thought 
piled,  till  some  great 
truth  is  loosened.— 
—SHELLEY. 


that  come  into  very  close  relations  with 
the  soil  and  can  thus  take  in  the  nourish- 
ment needed  for  the  making  of  growth. 
This,  the  larger  roots  have  not  the  ca- 
pacity for  doing.  So  in  the  growth  of  the 
human  intellect  and  human  character, 
it  is  the  little  actions,  day  by  day,  that 
really  do  the  permanent  building.  With 
patient  purpose  to  do  successfully  the 
many  little  tasks  that  confront  us  we  can 
later  on  achieve  the  larger  success  await- 
ing us. 

The  world's  history  is  full  of  the 
triumphs  of  those  who  have  had  to 
struggle  from  beginning  to  end  for  rec- 
ognition. Carey,  the  great  missionary, 
began  life  as  a  shoemaker;  the  chemist 
Vanquelin  was  the  son  of  a  peasant;  the 
poet  Burns  was  a  farmer  boy  and  a  day 
laborer;  Ben  Jonson  was  a  bricklayer; 
Livingstone,  the  traveler  and  explorer, 
was  a  weaver;  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a 
"rail-splitter"  and  a  farmer  boy. 

At  the  plow,  on  the  bench,  at  the  loom, 
these  men  dreamed  of  the  future  great- 
ness, and  step  by  step,  day  by  day,  they 
persevered  until  they  won  the  full  meas- 
ure of  success. 

The  great  and  good  women  of  the 

156 


THE    PURPOSE    OF    LIFE 


world  have  won  their  distinction  in  the 
same  manner.  They  cultivated  the  ster- 
ling qualities  that  made  for  success. 
They  acquired  the  manners  that  at- 
tracted toward  them  help  and  strength 
of  others  interested  in  good  causes  and 
those  struggling  to  advance  them. 

And  the  girl  who  is  reading  these 
lines,  can,  if  she  will,  make  her  life  a 
happy  success.  She  may  be  praised  by 
the  world  or  it  may  be  by  the  small  cir- 
cle of  friends  with  whom  she  comes  in 
contact.  Her  name  may  never  be  writ- 
ten in  history  but  it  may  be  fondly 
spoken  by  parents,  sisters,  brothers, 
schoolmates,  friends.  In  a  thousand 
gracious  ways  she  can  make  the  hours, 
days  and  years  good  and  golden  for  her 
own  precious  self  and  for  all  who  know 
her.  She  must  be  thoughtful  and  intel- 
ligently alert  to  the  opportunities  lying 
all  about  her  ready  to  be  fashioned  into 
shining  deeds.  She  must  know  that  she 
is  a  precious  craft  on  the  sea  of  life  and 
that  she  must  not  be  permitted  to  drift 
from  the  harbor  of  youth  and  of  home 
without  a  -life  pilot.  And  this  pilot 
should  be  her  own  conscience,  hedged 
about  with  the  learning,  the  good  breed- 

157 


The  child's  reason- 
ing powers  are,  as  it 
were,  the  wings  with 
which  he  will  event- 
ually have  to  fly. — 
LANDON. 


Choose  always  the 
way  that  seems  the 
best,  however  rough 
it  may  be.  Custom 
will  render  it  easy 
and  agreeable.  —  PY- 
THAGORAS. 


Recollection  is  the 
only  paradise  from 
which  we  cannot  be 
turned  out.  —  RICH- 
TER. 


THE    GIRL    WANTED 


Memory  is  the 
treasure-house  of  the 
mind.— FULLER. 


Habit  is  an  internal 
principle  which  leads 
us  to  do  easily,  nat- 
urally, and  with 
growing  certainty, 
what  we  do  often. — 
WEBSTER. 


The  vision  that  you 
glorify  in  your  mind, 
the  Ideal  that  you  en- 
throne in  your  heart 
— this  you  will  build 
your  life  by,  this 
you  will  become. — 
JAMES  ALLEN. 


ing,  the  fine  character  that  she  herself, 
under  proper  guidance,  must  cultivate 
through  the  impressionable  years  of 
childhood  and  maidenhood.  If  she  so 
wills  it,  beauty  and  grace  and  true  worth 
are  all  hers.  And  let  her  greet  and  go 
forth  in  the  freshness  of  each  golden 
day,  as  indeed,  she  must  greet  life,  itself, 
with  a  glad,  hopeful,  helpful 

MORNING  PRAYER 

Oh,  may  I  be  strong  and  brave,  today, 

And  may  I  be  kind  and  true, 
And  greet  all  men  in  a  gracious  way, 
With  frank  good  cheer  in  the  things  I  say, 

And  love  in  the  deeds  I  do. 

May  the  simple  heart  of  a  child  be  mine, 

And  the  grace  of  a  rose  in  bloom ; 
Let  me  fill  the  day  with  a  hope  divine 
And  turn  my  face  to  the  sky's  glad  shine, 
With  never  a  cloud  of  gloom. 

With  the  golden  levers  of  love  and  light 
I  would  lift  the  world,  and  when, 

Through   a   path   with   kindly   deeds    made 
bright, 

I  come  to  the  calm  of  the  starlit  night, 
Let  me  rest  in  peace.    Amen. 


158 


By  MARGARET  E.  SANGSTER 

HAPPY  SCHOOL  DAYS 

A  Book  for  Girls 


In  this  book,  Mrs.  Sangster,  the  popular 
friend  of  all  girls,  writes  to  them  charmingly 
and  sympathetically  of  the  things  nearest  to 
their  hearts.  The  book  will  delight  every  girl. 

It  ought  to  reach  the  hands  of  every  girl.— St.  Paul 
Pioneer  Press. 

The  book  is  as  fascinating  as  a  story. — Des  Moines 
Register  and  Leader. 

Every  girl's  mother  ought  to  make  her  a  present  of 
this  book.  —St.  Louis  Times.  ' 

Youthful  and  adult  readers  alike  will  enjoy  and  com- 
mend this  book. — Chicago  Record-Herald. 

Chatty  and  with  many  a  merry  anecdote  the  book  is 
as  beguiling  as  a  romance. — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

A  charming  book  pervaded  with  the  spirit  of  sweet 
friendliness,  complete  comprehension  and  joyous  help- 
fulness.— Chicago  News. 

An  interesting,  suggestive,  sensible  book,  in  which 
Mrs.  Sangster  is  at  her  best.  It  is  a  book  of  great 
worth,  and  whoever  extends  its  usefulness  by  increas- 
ing its  readers  is  a  public  benefactor.— Journal  of 
Education,  Boston. 

Handsome  cover.    Decorated  box.    Cloth,  i2mo.  $1.25 


FORBES  &>  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS  CHICAGO 


By  NIXON  WATERMAN 

"BOY  WANTED" 


A  book  of  jolly,  sparkling,  invigorating  coun- 
sel, in  prose  and  verse,  that  any  girl  or  boy 
will  read  with  interest.  It  will  also  please 
their  parents  and  teachers. 

Should  be  read  by  all  boys,  and  girls,  too.—  Detroit 
News. 

"Boy  Wanted"  is  an  unusual  achievement.— San 
Francisco  Call. 

It  is  clever,  cheery  and  full  of  sound  ideas.—  Chicago 
Record-Herald. 

Its  message  is  earnest  and  thrilling.  Full  of  inspira- 
tion and  encouragement.—  Pittsburg  Gazette. 

A  very  bright  and  stimulating  book  on  making  the 
most  of  opportunities.— Montreal  Daily  Witness. 

Strongly  written.  A  good  book  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  any  boy  of  any  age  up  to  eighty.—  Denver  Repub- 
lican. 

It  is  the  talk  of  a  big  brother  to  a  younger  one  on  a 
tramp  off  together.  A  mine  of  condensed  inspiration. 
—Boston  Advertiser. 

The  book  is  beautifully  made.  It  is  handsomely 
bound  and  illustrated  and  has  some  novel  typograph- 
ical features.—  Boston  Globe. 

Illustrated.    Attractive  Cover.    Cloth,  8vo.  $1.25 


FORBES  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS  CHICAGO 


"An  Expression  of  the  Bullock  Idea" 

To  build  a  business  that  will  never  know  completion  but  that 
will  advance  continually  to  meet  advancing  conditions. 

To   develop  stocks  and  service  to  a  notable  degree. 

To  create  a  personality  that  will  be  known  for  its  strength 
and  friendliness.  To  arrange  and  co-ordinate  activities  to 
the  end  of  winning  confidence  by  meriting  it. 

To  strive  always  to  secure  the  satisfaction  ot  every  cus- 
tomer. 

This  is  the  aim  of  Bullock's  that  is  being  impressed  more 
and  more  indelibly  as  the  days  go  by  upon  the  character  of 
the  business  itself. 


cific   Loast   Sales  Ecvk   Co..    Los 


0  :  d.    Seattle. 


7 


By  NIXON  WATERMAN 

"BOY  WANTED" 


A  book  of  jolly,  sparkling,  invigorating  coun- 
sel, in  prose  and  verse,  that  any  girl  or  boy 
will  read  with  interest.  It  will  also  please 
their  parents  and  teachers. 

Should  be  read  by  all  boys,  and  girls,  too. — Detroit 
News. 

"Boy  Wanted"  is  an  unusual  achievement.— San 
Francisco  Call. 

It  is  clever,  cheery  and  full  of  sound  ideas. — Chicago 
Record- Herald. 

Its  message  is  earnest  and  thrilling.  Full  of  inspira- 
tion and  encouragement.— Pittsburg  Gazette. 

A  very  bright  and  stimulating  book  on  making  the 
most  of  opportunities.— Montreal  Daily  Witness. 

Strongly  written.  A  good  book  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  any  boy  of  any  age  up  to  eighty.—  Denver  Repub- 
lican. 

It  is  the  talk  of  a  big  brother  to  a  younger  one  on  a 
tramp  off  together.  A  mine  of  condensed  inspiration. 
—Boston  Advertiser. 

The  book  is  beautifully  made.  It  is  handsomely 
bound  and  illustrated  and  has  some  novel  typograph- 
ical features. — Boston  Globe. 

Illustrated.     Attractive  Cover.    Cloth,  8vo. 


FORBES  &>  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS  CHICAGO 


University  of  California 
SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 
nro  [trorfl  w.typh  it  was  borrowed. 


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